


Into the Darkness

by Ginger_Pop, jlcamp09



Series: A Light in the Darkness [2]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-11
Updated: 2015-06-16
Packaged: 2018-04-03 22:16:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 44,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4116778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ginger_Pop/pseuds/Ginger_Pop, https://archiveofourown.org/users/jlcamp09/pseuds/jlcamp09
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A scenic trip to the Bone Pit of Kirkwall turns sinister when Cassandra's son and Dorian become trapped in the mines after a cave in. But what they discover in the rescue effort is more unnerving than anything they could have ever anticipated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is a sequel to "There Goes My Life." You may want to read that before this one, but it's not entirely necessary.

Dorian couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face as he watched as little Anthony spread himself across the Iron Bull’s chest and fell asleep in front of the fireplace. He gave a slight grin to Bull as he approached the Qunari and moved to sit down besides him. It was warm from the fire and even more so from the Bull’s body heat. The mage from Tevinter groped around on the ground until he pulled up a woolen blanket and draped it over the three of them. He curled up under Bull’s unoccupied arm. “You know, I never would have pegged you for the whole ‘watching children while they sleep thing’. In the best way possible. Not perverted like.”

Bull chuckled softly. “Ah, this one’s alright,” he said and rubbed Anthony’s curly black locks. “He’ll be a kickass dragon hunter one day. With Cassandra’s blood and my training? No one will be able to stop him. There won’t be a beast in this world he can’t face.” He smiled at the kid, already snoring with his stuffed nug tucked under his arm. “Besides, Cass and Varric need a break.”

“While I will agree with you on that account. I seriously doubt that Cassandra will allow her only son to become a dragon hunter after what happened to her brother,” The mage said quietly, snuggling into the Qunari’s side. He looked down at the little one draped across his lover. The fire light illuminated the youngling and it made Dorian smile despite himself. 

“Ah,” Bull growled, “She’ll come around. Besides, I thought you people were all about making your own choices and all that crap. Shouldn’t Anthony decide what he wants to do?” A smirk tugged at Bull’s lips as he said it. He rather enjoyed turning their own logic around on them. 

“Yes, that is all well and good, but I would rather not decide his fate too soon. His mother would cut off both of our heads if we did that. And I have several, several more years planned for you and myself,” he purred, turning his head into the curve of Bull’s neck, sighing happily.

“Cass isn’t that scary,” Bull said, though he didn’t quite sound as convincing as he’d hoped. He smiled softly as Dorian nuzzled into him. He quirked his eyebrow and tilted his head just right so he could look at his lover. “And what, pray tell, are these plans you have for us?” he asked in amusement.

“The kind that involve us growing old together and all that sappy nonsense,” he said in a way that implied it was anything but nonsense. He looked up into Bull’s good eye, seeing that the Qunari already knew what was going on in his own head. It made his heart beat faster and part of him couldn’t believe that he had found this man who understood him so perfectly, better than himself, in fact. He breathed in deeply, pressing a kiss to his shoulder before he looked to the sleeping child and he reached out, rubbing his back before he drew his hand under the covers once more. While Kirkwall was considerably warmer than Skyhold, it was still colder than what he would like. “I do rather enjoy stealing Cassandra’s child for a day or two and then giving him back.”

A big genuine smile split Bull’s face then. “Especially when we fill him with sugar right before we send him home,” he laughed. Why it was so amusing to send Anthony home so hyper, Bull wasn’t exactly sure, but there you had it. “Hey, how bad d’you think Cass would lose her shit if I got Anthony his first axe? You know, to start training with? Not sharp or anything. Well, not  that  sharp.”

“I think she’d take it and use it to hack off both of our heads. You know she’s already threatened me.” The Tevinter mage sighed, “And you telling him stories of the dragon you killed isn’t helping matters. I didn’t think he would ever quiet down after you regaled him with your latest feat out in the bone pits. You and an endless supply of dragons. Who would have thought. Maker help you if Anthony starts asking you to take him along on a hunt.”

Bull gave an almost nervous, half-hearted laugh. He tucked one hand behind his head and didn’t meet Dorian’s eyes as he spoke again. “Heh… yeah… He’s already asked,” he said. “Three times. I told him someday, but he didn’t seem satisfied with that answer. He’ll be on about it in the morning, I’m sure.” Bull was suddenly grateful that he planned to work in the morning, keeping watch at the Bone Pit to make sure no dragons tried to slink back in there.

“Fantastic,” Dorian deadpanned. “If I don’t make it back from Lowtown tomorrow, it will be because Cassandra has murdered me for putting such thoughts in his head and then she will come after you,” he muttered, “You should come with me to drop the boy off tomorrow. I would feel safer if you were there to hide behind. For some reason, Cassandra lets you get away with far more than I ever can with her.”

“Chicken,” Bull teased and made himself a little more comfortable, curling his arm around Dorian’s shoulders and pulling him  closer. “Alright, I’ll go with you. But we have to go early in the morning. Some of us have to work around here,” he muttered teasingly. He shook his head and looked up at the ceiling. “I can’t believe you’re afraid of Cassandra.”

“Says the man who uses the excuse to go early in the morning to try to catch her while she’s half awake. I’ve learned most of your tricks by now, you savage Tal-Vashoth.” He teased before he moved up, kissing Bull’s lips, softly at first and then with more urgency before he pulled back, reaching up to swipe his thumb over the Qunari’s scarred chin, “Perhaps I’ll make it up to you tomorrow evening.”

Bull gave a lustful growl and almost moved to grab Dorian, then remembered the little boy on his chest. He pressed his lips thin and glared at the mage. “You’d better.” 

* * *

Anthony giggled as he walked between his uncles, holding both of their hands as they headed for his home in the Hanged Man. “Jump!” he cried again and squealed with delight as they lifted him into the air, letting him swing between them for a moment. “Jump! Jump!” He blinked up at Dorian with an innocent gaze. “What’s hyper mean? Mommy always call me hyper after I’m with you.”

Dorian couldn’t stop his lips from curling upwards into a smirk at the innocent question. “It means we don’t give you enough chocolate when you come to visit. I’ll have to work on that,” he said as he tapped his lips thoughtfully. “Not to worry. I’ll see what I can do. Maybe something special from Orlais is needed. Perhaps if I get a present for your mother, she won’t be so cross with us next time you spend the night. That will be our little secret though,” he said.

Anthony giggled and nodded.

“You know the kid can’t keep a secret to save his life,” Bull deadpanned, letting Anthony swing between them again. He pushed open the door to the Hanged Man with a snort of amusement as Anthony ran forward, giggling and squealing as he made a beeline for Varric. Bull let Dorian walk in a bit ahead of him before he shut the door, then pointed at Dorian’s back, wordlessly mouthing to Varric, “It’s his fault.”

Varric laughed as he was tackled by his son, catching Bull’s look. “Uh huh, sure Tiny. I’m certain Dorian was the only one who contributed to this ball of energy,” he said as he wrapped his arms around his son and lifted him up, “Okay, be honest with me, how much chocolate did your uncles give you?”

Dorian turned to Bull, a feigned look of shock on his face. “You brute! Don’t put all the blame on me! This is why you are supposed to be here. And how is Anthony ever going to learn to lie if you keep giving me up before he has the chance?!” He stuck his tongue out at his lover childishly.

Anthony wasn’t listening to his uncles as they bickered at each other. He screwed up his little face as he thought for a moment, then held up four fingers. “They give me five,” he answered. “And lollipops.”

Bull waved Dorian off and sat himself at a table. “Ah, he’s fine. Look! He’s already working on it. You know damn good and well you gave him at least seven,” he said with a smirk, although perhaps that was less of the kid lying and more of the fact that four-year-olds aren’t exactly great at counting. Bull reached out to try to pinch Dorian’s tongue. “Keep that thing in your mouth unless you’re planning on using it.”

Varric chuckled as he sat his son next to him at the table and watched as Dorian huffed and moved to sit next to Bull. “You know Cassandra is going to kill you when she finds out. Though I doubt she will be surprised,” he said as he picked up his quill again and started writing, “Besides the chocolate heist, I’m assuming you boys all had fun?”

“Chocolate? Again?” Cassandra asked in a disapproving tone as she trudged down the stairs, baby Lily sleeping in her arms. She gave Dorian a tired look and shook her head. “I thought you said you were taking Anthony to give me a chance for a little more rest. Giving him chocolate while he is with you is counterproductive, you know.” She rubbed at her tired eyes with her free hand and tried to stifle a yawn.

“Nonsense. All you have to do now is wait for him to crash and he will be out like a light for the rest of the day,” Dorian said, waving his hand in the air. “Now, how long before Bull and I can corrupt the little princess?” he asked smiling at the little bundle in Cassandra’s arms, holding out his own to take the child from her.

“Ugh,” Cassandra sighed and handed the little one over to him. “At least wait until she has teeth.” She went to her husband once Dorian had the baby securely in his arms and stole a sip of Varric’s tea. She smiled at her son and picked him up, setting him on her hip. “Were you good while you visited your uncles?”

Anthony shook his head, his own curls smacking his face. “NOPE!” He beamed at the look on his mother’s face. He never had to be good when he was with Dorian; the mage let him get away with murder. “I wanna go to the Bone Pit!” he announced, kicking his little feet and bouncing. “Bull say we go someday. Is today someday?”

Varric let his quill drop to the parchment in front of him and he rubbed at his temples. “Oh Tiny, tell me you didn’t put that thought in his head.” He looked up at the two in front of him, shaking his head at the sheepish looks he received in turn. “Right, that’s not going to be a problem.” He knew his son. Very impressionable and in that age where he wanted to get into anything and everything he could. “You know, I think you two are missing the point of being godparents. You’re supposed to be keeping him _out_ of danger. Not leading him to more.” 

“Well it’s not like I did it on purpose,” Bull growled. “I was trying to tell him a bedtime story. How was I supposed to know he’d get so excited about the idea? I thought a story about fighting dragons would be good for bed.” He sat back in his chair, draping his elbow over the back of it. “Besides, it’s all cleared out now anyway. It’s perfectly safe if he wants to go see it.”

Cassandra shot Bull a glare. She drew a breath to scold Bull, but Anthony cut across her before she could speak.

“Can we go?” he asked, clasping his little hands together. “Pwease, Mommy? Pwease, pwease, pwease?” He gave her a pitiful pout, and actually batted his eyes.

“No,” Cassandra deadpanned and set him on the floor. “I am immune. That will not work on me.”

Anthony turned his attention to his father and, still on his knees, shuffled over to him. “Pweeeeeease, Daddy?” he asked, pouting his bottom lip.

Varric dared to look down at his son, shaking his head at the big, pleading eyes. “Hah, that may work on me kiddo, but I always have a plan to cover my a... appointments.” He stopped himself, giving a sheepish look at Cassandra. “Ask your mother. It’s her approval you need to get in this case.” He looked back to his wife, smiling at her, “You know, you could go with him. Might be good for you to get out of here for a little bit, get some fresh air.” He said, “I can look after the little one for the day.”

Dorian snorted, holding baby against him. “That’s if I give her back,” he said before looking back down at the little one. “I’m still surprised how easily she popped out. I was expecting to spend a good couple of hours with you in labor Cassandra.”

“She was certainly easier than this one,” she stated, looking down her nose at her son. He was still on his knees, begging his father. Of course Varric said it was up to her; he always made her play the bad guy. He was too soft to say no. “Why would you want to go to that place anyway?” she finally asked him. “I cannot imagine that it is very interesting. Besides, Bull and the Chargers have already cleared out all the dragons. It is not like you will see one.”

“But I can pretend!” Anthony protested as he got to his feet. “I be a dragon hunter! Rarrrrrrr!” he roared and mimed swinging an axe, fighting a dragon only his little eyes could see. He blinked up at his mother and gave her a charming grin that rivaled his father’s. 

Cassandra narrowed her eyes at Varric. “He gets that from you, you know.” She sighed heavily when Varric pretended he couldn’t hear her. “Fine,” she finally gave in before she wheeled around to glare at Dorian and Bull. “But you are both coming with us. You put the idea in his head. You can help keep an eye on him, seeing as how you filled him with sugar this morning.”

Dorian made a face. “What? You can’t expect me to go trudging around in those filthy mines.” His mouth snapped shut as he saw the look on his friend’s face and he swallowed harshly, “Oh, alright. I need to collect some more ingredients for my potions anyway. The prices they charge in the markets are outrageous.”

Varric chuckled. “Thought you’d be used to that after four years here, Sparkler,” he said as he looked up to his wife and tugged her to sit next to him at the table. “At least have some breakfast before you go,” he said as he pulled her in for a gentle kiss, sighing contentedly against her.

Dorian rolled his eyes. “Do you mind? There are children present at the table,” he said, making to cover the sleeping baby’s eyes.

Cassandra ignored Dorian for a moment as she let her lips linger on Varric’s. “You are all making me soft,” she murmured, though the accusation lacked any bite. “Alright, we will go. Just for a few hours this morning. And when we get back, I get the whole afternoon to take a nap.” 

Anthony gave an excited, high-pitched squeal and ran up the stairs to fetch his toy wooden sword. “I get to fight a dragon!” he cried. “Watch out, dragon! I’mma kill you dead!”

Bull chuckled as breakfast was brought over to them. “This is what they call karma, Dorian,” he said. “It’ll be good for you.” 


	2. Chapter 2

“Look, look, look!” Anthony gasped excitedly as they entered the mine, gazing around in sheer wonder of the place. He tugged on Dorian’s hand, pulling him further inside. In his other hand, he still gripped his toy wooden sword, absolutely shaking with excitement. “Where the dragon? I fight it! I fight it now!”

Dorian held on tightly to the little boy as he was dragged further into the darkness, his other hand holding a small ball of fire to light their way. He turned to glance behind him, seeing Cassandra and Bull taking their time following them. He looked back down at Anthony, wishing suddenly that he hadn’t given the youngster so much candy. “I am afraid Bull has beaten you to it. Thank goodness, really, I’ve had the great misfortune to have fought a dragon before. It was far from pleasant.”

Anthony paused and turned to give his uncle a disapproving scowl. “There might still be one here!” he said. He would not be dissuaded. His excitement returned full force the next moment. “Come on! We go see!” he insisted, leaning his weight against Dorian’s hand, dragging him along.

Cassandra followed behind them, thoroughly enjoying the scene before her. “Serves you right, Dorian,” she said with a smirk. “Perhaps next time you will rethink feeding him nothing but sugar when he visits you.” She had to admit, it was nice to get out of the house, and to see her son so completely enthralled to finally visit this place. She cast a glance at Bull out of the corner of her eye. “Though it would serve you right as well. You put this idea in his head in the first place.”

Bull just grinned. “Hey, he likes the stories. What else was I supposed to do?” he asked innocently. “Besides, this can’t all be blamed on me. In case you hadn’t noticed, your son’s imagination rivals your husband’s. I’m not that good of a storyteller. Half of what’s in his head is his own doing.”

“That is probably true,” Cassandra agreed. “You two don’t get too far ahead!” she called out.

Dorian scoffed as he heard Cassandra call after them, turning his head to call back, “As if I have a choice in the matter and you know it!” He sighed loudly before he mentally promised himself to cut back on the chocolates next time. “I’m sure Bull wouldn’t dare do a thing like leave a dragon still breathing down here. He gets almost as excited as you do when there’s one of those giant lizards involved,” He rolled his eyes and paused when he caught sight of some deep mushrooms growing in between some rocks on the ground, “Hold a moment.” He said, tugging the boy to a stop and he dropped to his knees as he fished in his robes for a small knife he could use to harvest the ingredient.

“Ugh!” Anthony huffed impatiently. He stomped back over to Dorian and leaned over the mage’s shoulder, peering at what he was doing. “Mushrooms? Ew! That’s gross. I don’t like mushrooms! Yuck!” He made another disgusted noise when Dorian took his time collecting them. He leaned closer, his nose almost touching Dorian’s, and peered intently into his eyes. “We go now? We find dragons! Not yucky mushrooms!”

Dorian chuckled as he tucked the mushrooms away in a pack he had slung around his shoulders for this very purpose. “Yes, yes, of course. Mustn’t keep the impatient dragon hunter waiting, can we? Maybe if we are lucky we can find what’s left of the corpse from the one Bull has taken care of. Though, the thought of the rotting flesh is most displeasing. Maybe not,” he muttered.

“What’s that? Cor… cop… copes… What’s that mean?” Anthony asked, trying to form the new word, his little face screwing up in concentration. He gave it up and didn’t wait for Dorian to answer because his eyes had settled on something new. “What’s that?” he asked and tugged Dorian along, heading for a narrow passage in the shadows. He hesitated for a moment, then pointed. “We go in here?”

Dorian held his hand that was holding the flame closer to the opening and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t see why not. If we’re lucky, more of those ‘icky’ mushrooms will be lurking around inside,”  he said and allowed himself to be pulled into the passageway by the child. He turned to call over his shoulder, “We’re checking out this place over here!” He waved his hand at the two behind them.

Bull frowned. He didn’t remember this passage before. How Anthony and Dorian had even spotted it was beyond him. The entrance was hidden by a stone wall, the whole thing cast into dark shadow. It was nearly impossible to see. “Be careful,” he growled and started forward, his hand automatically going for the grip on his axe. He had to turn sideways to fit through the passage; his shoulders and his horns were too broad to fit.

Cassandra was right behind him, her eyes narrowing in concern at the way Bull rested his fingertips on the axe as if he were ready to attack. “Bull, is everything alright?” she asked in concern. “You are making me nervous.”

“It’s fine, Cass,” he assured her as he was finally able to move forward again. His eye went wide at the large cavern they’d stumbled into. He definitely would have remembered this place if he’d been there before. It was nearly pitch black, save for the little ball of fire that Dorian held. He could see it bobbing across the room.

“You two are getting far too much ahead of us!” Cassandra called out sternly.

“Ooo, mom-voice,” Bull teased.

“Hush,” she scolded him in the same tone. “I mean it! Anthony! Dorian! You’d better not get yourselves into trouble!”

Dorian sighed as he again looked behind them. The narrow passage had given way to a larger room and they were already on the other side of it. There was another passageway beyond that and next to it was a cluster of deep mushrooms. “We’ll be right here!” he assured her. The room was mostly dark, he could understand Cassandra’s worry. He worked his lip a moment before he concentrated on the ball of flame and made it hover in the air for a moment while he knelt down and harvested the mushrooms. He chuckled at the noise of disgust Anthony directed at him, “Some of us have to work for a living, you know.” 

“Why?” Anthony asked, his tone impatient. “Fighting dragons is more fun!” He swung his wooden sword around again and gasped when he hit Dorian’s hand with it. The ball of fire sailed out of the mage’s palm and struck the huge rocks against the wall where it sizzled and died out. “I sorry! I sorry!” he wailed.

A rumbling sound filled the cavern and Cassandra thought her heart stopped. The distinctive gurgling sound was unmistakable and she screamed her son’s name as two huge, shining eyes pierced the darkness. “ANTHONY!” 

The dragon reared its head, angered at being woken, and tendrils of smoke curled from its nostrils, illuminated in the dark by the glowing red of its chest and throat. It let out a scream of fury as it unfurled its wings, hitting the ceiling overhead.

“Shit,” Bull hissed and drew his axe. His muscles tensed, prepared to strike, but the next moment, the dragon spewed a stream of fire and he flattened himself back against the wall, pinning Cassandra between himself and the rock to save them both from being roasted alive. 

“I thought you said there were no more dragons down here!” she screamed at him.

“I thought there weren’t!!!”

Dorian snatched Anthony back, pushing him into the passageway and stepped protectively in front of the child, pulling his staff from his back as he threw a protection barrier over Cassandra and Bull. “I’d say you missed one!” he angrily shouted as his heart pounded in fear. There was a deep rumbling and for a moment Dorian thought it was the dragon growling, however the sound of stones cracking above their heads changed his mind rather quickly. “It’s caving in!” he shouted, turning back to the boy, his safety the only thing in his mind. He wrapped the child up in his arms as he ran into the passage a barrier going up around them both, “Keep your head down!”

Anthony cried out in fear, not understanding what was happening, and hid his face against Dorian’s chest. His little fists bunched in the mage’s robes, clinging to him. “MOMMY!” he cried out, “I WANT MOMMY!”

The dragon thrashed about, but was quickly crushed beneath the enormous amount of stones that fell from the ceiling. 

Cassandra watched in horror as the chamber caved in. “NO!” she screamed out. She couldn’t move, paralyzed by fear and Bull’s large frame still shielding her, pressing her against the wall. Everything suddenly went quiet, save for the trickling sound of the dust settling. “Anthony?” she gasped. “Dorian?” She pushed around Bull, stumbling forwards to the pile of stone. “Can you hear me? Answer me!”

Dorian stood up from where he had fallen down, uncurling from the boy in his arms. He held him carefully as he checked him over, sighing in relief as he didn’t find any injuries on him. He moved to look at where they had come from, summoning another ball of fire to inspect the way, but it was well and truly blocked. “We are fine Cassandra!” he called back, “Anthony is fine. But it would appear that we are a bit trapped.” He turned and looked ahead of them. “Though it looks like there may be another way out. I’m not sure. We might end up more lost. And find another dragon,” he growled.

Cassandra barely dared to breathe as she strained to hear Dorian. His voice was muffled through all the layers of fallen stone, but she caught most of it. “We have to move this,” she gasped, reaching for a stone, but Bull stopped her.

“You could make it worse,” he said, his eye adjusted to the darkness enough now that he could see the pile of rubble extended all the way up to the ceiling. “More could come down on us if we move it. We’ll have to find another way to get to them.” His heart thudded in his chest, the adrenaline and fear surging through him. It mixed with relief as he heard Dorian’s voice, though, calling out that he and Anthony were unhurt. “We’ll find another passage to get to you!” he called loudly to Dorian. “Stay calm and be careful!” 

Cassandra rounded on him, punching his shoulder over and over. “You - said - there - were - no - dragons - here!” she shouted, punctuating every word with a punch as he cringed away from her. 

“Chief! What happened?” Krem called as he ran in, hearing all the commotion. “Maker, what is this place? We didn’t see this before.”

“No shit, Krem,” Bull growled, turning in the small amount of space they had. “Dragon,” he explained simply. “Go back. We have to find a way around this. Dorian and Anthony are trapped on the other side.”

Krem nodded and hurried back through the narrow passage, followed closely by Bull.

Cassandra swallowed hard. She didn’t want to leave Anthony, but she had to find another way to get to him. “Anthony! You stay with Dorian! I will find you!” she called out. “Dorian! Keep him safe!”

“Don’t worry Cassandra, I’ll protect him with my life,” Dorian promised, “Just ah, be quick about it. I don’t really want to stay here any longer than we have to.” He turned and moved to sit on the ground, crossing his arms as he looked to Anthony, “What have we learned about smacking mage’s hands when they are holding fire?”

Little Anthony trembled and choked on his tears. “It’s bad,” he managed to sob out. “I sorry! I sorry!” He crawled into Dorian’s lap and tucked his head under his uncle’s chin, big tears sliding down his cheeks. He hadn’t meant to do it. “Is you mad at me?” he whimpered, snuggling into him, hiccupping and sobbing. “I didn’t mean to.”

Dorian sighed as he wrapped his arms around the little one, “No, I’m not mad. So long as you promise to never do it again.” He ran his hand over the boy’s hair. “Come now, crying isn’t going to do anything for us. You should be celebrating. You did just slay a dragon after all.” At least, Dorian hoped that the creature was dead. The last thing they needed to be was trapped  with a dragon.

Anthony shook his head and buried his face into Dorian’s neck. “Dragons too big! Scary!” he wailed and wrapped his arms around the man’s neck, hugging him tightly. “I don’t wanna be a dragon hunter anymore!”

Dorian chuckled, “Thank the Maker for small miracles.”

* * *

 

Cassandra made her way back to the main passage, feeling frantic. “We can’t just stand here,” she said. “We have to find a way to get to them. We have to get them out of there! We have to…” her voice trailed off as she thought of her husband and her blood ran cold. “Varric. Varric doesn’t know! Oh Maker!”

“Calm down, Cass. We need our heads clear.” He looked to Krem as they stepped out into the daylight. “Head back to Kirkwall and tell Varric. Get him to bring the maps to these mines and bring back the Chargers. We will scope around and see if there’s another entrance to this one,” he said as he thumbed over his shoulder at the mine they came from.

Krem gave a nod. “I’ll be back as fast as I can,” he promised. He turned to leave, but paused and looked at Cassandra. “Don’t worry. We’ll get your boy back to you before you know it.” And with that, he hurried out of the mine.

“Shit!” Cassandra hissed. She drew a breath and looked up at the ceiling, trying to calm herself. “He’s safe. He’s with Dorian. He’s safe,” she repeated to herself over and over. A sudden thought struck her and she turned to Bull. “That passage was too narrow for a dragon to get through. You barely made it through there yourself. So there has to be another way in here, right?”

Bull gave her a smile. “Now you’re thinking. There has to be some place around here big enough for a dragon to squeeze through,” he reasoned as he hefted his axe over his shoulder. “Come on. Let’s take a look around, hopefully it won’t be far. Unless it’s not even in this mine. Could be out on the Wounded Coast for all we know. Hopefully those maps will show us something useful.”

* * *

 

Krem thought he’d rather face ten dragons than to have to tell Varric what had happened in the mine. Still, the matter was urgent and he wasn’t about to drag his feet. He knocked on the open door to Varric’s room and peered inside, seeing the dwarf laying the baby down carefully in a bassinette. He cleared his throat and squared his shoulders, determined to keep his manner as professional as possible. “Varric, there’s been an incident at the Bone Pit. No one was hurt, but there was a cave in. Dorian and your son are trapped. We need you to come with us,” he said.

Varric froze, his eyes snapping up from his daughter to Krem, an icy fear washed over him. “What! A cave in?” He spared a lingering glance at his daughter before he stepped away, moving Krem out the door and pulled it halfway closed behind him. Worry for his son had him clenching his hands. “How did it cave in? Did the miners get over zealous or something!? Shit!” He breathed, trying to slow his racing heart, “Is Cassandra alright?”

“She’s fine,” Krem reassured him. “She and the chief were on one side, Dorian and Anthony on the other. They… stumbled on a dragon in a passage we didn’t know was there. Beats me how they found the damn thing in the first place. The dragon brought the ceiling down on itself and blocked the whole cavern. We could hear Dorian on the other side. Like I said, they’re not hurt, but he and your son are trapped. The Chargers are getting ready to head back now if you want to come with us. And the chief asked me to have you bring a map.”

“Shit,” Varric muttered and rubbed at his forehead. He made it a point to not go into any caves, mines, or anything dark and closed in, but for his son he would make an exception. “Yeah, give me a moment. I’ll dig up all the maps I have.” He turned and went back into the room, going to one of his bookshelves. He kept the maps from back when Hawke had dealt with the Pit over the years. “Dragons. Why is it always dragons? I thought you and Tiny cleared them all out!” 

“We thought we had,” Krem answered. “How the bastard got in that cavern is beyond me. The passage was narrow, barely visible. We’ve been all over that place and never noticed it before. Hell, the chief had to shimmy through it sideways just to fit.” He looked down at the floor for a moment, clearing his throat again. “For what it’s worth, I feel awful about it. If I’d known there was a chance of a dragon still being in there, I wouldn’t have let them take your boy in that mine. And I know the chief wouldn’t have risked it either.” He looked up again, determination on his face. “We’re going to get them out. Dorian’s smart, he can keep your son safe until we get to them.”

Varric pulled out a large book and opened it up, checking to make sure all of the maps were there before he tucked it under his arm and grabbed Bianca up from where she rested against the wall. “Grab Cassandra’s sword and shield. Knowing her, she’s going to want to stab something,” he muttered at Krem as he hurried down the stairs. “Norah, I need you to watch Lily. There’s trouble at the mines. Make sure nothing happens to her,” he called out to the waitress.

Krem grabbed up Cassandra’s sword and shield, then hurried after Varric. “The Chargers should be waiting for us,” he said. He could see the look in Varric’s eyes as the dwarf led the way out of the tavern. He felt like he should say something, anything to put Varric’s mind at ease, but he’d already promised to rescue Anthony. There wasn’t much else to be said, really. But still, it seemed incredibly unfair. “Seems like you never catch a break,” he commented, thinking back to when they’d all been at Skyhold, the loss Varric and Cassandra had suffered there. “It’s not fair. It’s not right.”

“No shit,” Varric breathed, “If anything happens to him…” He trailed off and squeezed his eyes shut tightly as he shook his head, “No. It’s not going to happen. Sparklers a smart man, he’ll keep him safe.” He wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince. 

Krem nodded. “If for nothing else, because he’d be scared of what your wife would do if he let anything happen to your boy.”


	3. Chapter 3

Anthony grew more restless the longer they sat there. His crying had stopped and given way to impatient huffs and sighs. He wiggled around in Dorian’s lap, looking for something interesting. Dorian had lit another fire in his hand and Anthony inspected it, lifting the mage’s hand to peer underneath, crawling all over him as he tried to figure it out. He finally sat back against Dorian’s chest with another frustrated huff, not realizing how much he sounded like his mother when he did that. He tipped his head far back to look up at Dorian. “I’m hungry.”

Dorian blinked and looked down at the child, the big eyes staring up at him. “I am afraid your mother was the one with the snacks. And trust me when I say you really don’t want to eat the deep mushrooms I picked. Tried it once, gave me the shits for about a week.” He shuddered at the memory. “Still, perhaps we can poke around. Cassandra and Bull said they were going to find another way to us. Perhaps if we search for the exit, we will meet up with them along the way. Save everyone some time.”

Anthony pouted and got up, taking Dorian’s hand. But this time, he didn’t pull on him. Instead he let Dorian lead him down the passage. “I hope Mommy finds us,” he muttered. He was glad Dorian knew how to make fire. He thought the passageways would be very scary if they couldn’t see where they were going. His little eyebrows furrowed as they walked, working out in his head what Dorian had said. “What does shits mean?”

Dorian’s eyes widened and another fear washed over him. “Vishante kaffas... it’s a bad word. Ugh, as were those. Don’t go repeating them to your mother. She will well and truly kill me. Uncle Dorian is sorry he said a bad word in front of you.” He inwardly groaned as he knew he should have been more careful of his language around the clearly impressionable boy. He coughed and held the fire higher, wishing he could see further ahead. It was just black upon black, like a void trying to suck them in.

“Okay Uncle Dorian,” Anthony said, tapping his wooden sword along the stone wall as they walked. He liked how loud it sounded, the way it echoed. He stomped his little boots, the slapping sound joining the tapping of the sword. “It’s like music!” he proclaimed. His little face lit up when he heard his voice echo back to him. “Hello?!” He gasped when he heard the answering,  “hello!”   He looked up at Dorian. “There is another me in here! Over there!” he cried, pointing in the direction the echo had answered.

Oh this boy was going to lure every last dragon, giant spider, and deepstalker to their location. “That, my dear boy, is just the echo of your voice. It happens in large enclosed areas. Imagine if your voice was a physical object, like a ball. Speaking throws the ball across the room. What you hear back is the ball bouncing off of the wall and coming back towards us. And there had better not be anything else in this mine other than the two of us. The thought is rather unsettling.”

“I wish we had a ball to play with,” Anthony said. He peered around at the walls that he could see, drinking in the strange formations. He giggled as he hopped onto a little ledge formed in the wall, still holding onto Dorian’s hand. “Look! I taller now!” He bounced along beside Dorian, his energy never waning. “Hop! Hop! Hop!” He paused to listen to the echo again, still not quite understanding that it was really his own voice coming back to him. He looked at the fire in Dorian’s hand and pointed at it. “I wanna do that!”

Dorian chuckled. “Unfortunately, the jury is still out on that one. It is highly unlikely you will be able to do this as you are part dwarf. They are highly resistant to magic. Still, anything is possible in this crazy world. That would be a first. It’s not one of my better bets. I’m still wondering how tall you are going to grow up to be,” he said as he moved quickly when Anthony slipped on the stone and caught him in his arm, “Enough of that I think. Me getting killed by your mother is not on my list of things to do today.” 

“Mommy won’t kill you. She loves you too much!” Anthony insisted, but allowed Dorian to set him back on the stone floor. “I might do magic when I a grown-up!” he said determinedly. A little frown crossed his face for a moment before his eyes lit up again. “Oooo! Or maybe I has horns like Bull!” He blinked up at Dorian again, “Can I have horns? I want horns. Big ones!”

“Sure, why not?” Dorian sighed and took Anthony’s hand again. “When we get out of here, you can ask Bull for his,” he teased and paused as they came to a wall with a crack in it, the hole pitch black. He pressed his lips thin. “I wonder if there’s another side to this,” he pondered aloud and stepped closer, holding the flame to the hole. He didn’t have time to react as suddenly a loud screeching filled the air and a cloud of blackness flowed out at him, tiny claws scratching at this face, tangling in his hair. He let out a scream as a bat, of all things, got caught in his hair. His hair wasn’t even that long! How did it do that? “Get it off, get it off!!” 

Anthony giggled as he watched his uncle struggle before he grabbed Dorian’s hand and tugged him to lean down. He carefully wrapped his little hand around the flailing bat and began to untangle him. “Awww! He’s so cute!” he crooned. “He want to be your friend,” he said as he finally pulled the bat away, his hands closed over its wings to keep the little thing calm. He turned his hands so he could peer at the creature. “He has big eyes,” he commented before he stretched his closed hands out suddenly towards Dorian. “Wanna see?”

“Uggh,” Dorian groaned as he straightened up and tried to smooth his hair back to its normal state, but it was a losing battle in the dark mine with no mirror for miles. “No thank you. You can take that thing and shove it back into its hole. Better yet, are you still hungry? Wouldn’t take much to roast the little vermin. Though, on second thought, better not.” 

Anthony looked horrified and yanked his arms back to his chest. “You can’t eat my friend!” he cried. He scooted around Dorian and opened his hands to let the bat fly off. “Bye!” he waved before he turned to the mage again and scowled, his hands on his hips. “You scared,” he said accusingly. “You don’t eat bats!” he scolded, pointing his little finger at Dorian and shaking it. “Yuck! Shame on you!”

Dorian rolled his eyes and conjured up a ball of flame in his hand again. “I wasn’t scared!” he insisted as he turned away from Anthony to continue on their path, “I was simply startl…” His voice faded away as the light from the fire illuminated something that caught his eyes. He couldn’t quite say what he was looking at and he walked over to the cavern wall, drawing the light closer as he reached out with his free hand to the grooves embedded in the wall. Horror washed over him as he ran his fingers over them, his eyes widening. They were claw marks. Enormous claw marks. He had been under a few dragons to know that this was bigger than the “normal” ones. Bigger than the one that had been crushed not long ago. He swallowed harshly and looked around, but he could see nothing else. 

“Dorian?” Anthony asked, concern on his face. While the bat had been funny, he could now see real fear in Dorian’s eyes. He shrank back on himself, uncertain what could make his uncle so afraid. “What is that?” he asked, looking at the gouges in the rock that Dorian studied. “Is that scratches? What scratches rock like that?” He whimpered again, trying not to cry. “I want my mommy. I want Daddy. I’m done with this mine!”

Dorian swallowed his horror and turned quickly, kneeling in front of the crying boy. He pulled him close to him, lifting his chin so he could look him in the eyes. All humor and joking was gone from his voice, “Anthony. I need you to listen to me, very very carefully. I need you to be brave right now. Like your uncle Bull. No crying, no yelling, not a word. Both of us are not going to make a peep while we find our way out of this mine.” He promised, “And I swear to you on my life that I will reunite you with your mother and father. Alright?”

Anthony’s lip trembled, but he nodded firmly. If Uncle Dorian made him a promise, he always kept it. He hoped that they would get out of that place soon. There was an eerie feeling to it now, as if something lurked in the darkness, watching them. He sniffled and nodded again, reaching out to hug Dorian’s neck. “I be quiet,” he whispered.

Dorian hugged the small boy to him carefully. He remembered when his own father used to promise him things. They seemed so empty now. He wasn’t going to let his own ever become something hollow and meaningless. “Good lad,” he said as he stood up, sparing one last look at the claw marks on the wall, suppressing the shudder that wanted to travel down his spine. He held out a hand to Anthony, smiling when he took it without a fuss, “Come now, let us find a way out of here.” He reached behind his back, drawing his staff again, this time channeling his energy and manipulating fire to the tip of it to light their way.


	4. Chapter 4

It was either the longest trip to the Bone Pits or the fastest. Varric couldn’t make up his mind as the entrance to the mines came into view and he saw Bull casually leaning against a rock wall and his wife wearing a path in the stones in front of a dark entrance. “Cassandra!” he called, gripping the book of maps tightly as he rushed over, Krem right behind him. He spared a look at the Qunari, “What the hell, Tiny! I thought you said there weren’t any more dragons! You said it was safe!”

“Dorian and Anthony found a cavern we hadn’t seen before. We’ve been all over these mines, that wasn’t there before. Some weird shit is going on here. You know I don’t mess around when it comes to dragons. As far as I knew, it was safe,” Bull said in an even voice. He had been thinking over the scene in his mind while they waited on Krem, Varric, and the rest of the Chargers. The opening hadn’t been there before. He was positive.

Rocky wandered over with Krem, “It could be that when the dragon settled in there, it knocked the rocks or whatever was hiding that passageway down. It’s the only explanation I want to believe. Don’t need any more of that magic crap gone wrong.”

Cassandra rushed over to Varric and threw her arms around him. “I should not have let him come here. I should have made him stay closer to me,” she gasped, feeling wretched. She pulled back and spied the book in his hands and grabbed it, then promptly sat herself down on the stone floor to look over the maps. “I don’t give a damn about the dragon anymore, I just want to find my son. If that beast found a way in there, then that means there’s a way to get to Dorian and Anthony. There’s no way it fit through that passage there.”

Varric leaned over her shoulder as he peered at the maps and then looked at the mine. He pressed his lips thin, of all the places for his son to get lost in, it had to be in there. “Have I ever mentioned how much I despise caves?” he muttered.

Krem raised an eyebrow. “A dwarf that hates caves? That’s a new one to me.”

“Surface dwarves are a rare breed,” Rocky said as he moved to look at the maps as well, “No stone sense at all.” He hummed a moment as he looked through all the passageways, a frown growing on his face with every passing second.

“What’s wrong, Rocky?” Bull rumbled, “You seem to remember these mines better than anyone else in the Chargers. You’ve got some ideas, right?”

“A few, but none that you are going to like. I’d have to see the cave in to let you know if I can blast a way through it, but it would be better if your mage and that kid weren’t anywhere nearby for it. It could open it up, but it could also crush us. As for the other ideas, all of these mines look to be connected in some way. These are just maps, that cavern you said you found isn’t even on here. Judging by the way these are drawn though, it looks like we have a few choices on where to go next.” He pointed to three separate entrances and winding passages, “These are all heading in the direction of this mystery section. It would be my opinion to start with them. There could be miles of unexplored shit down there, filled with who knows what.”

Cassandra swallowed back a whimper as she began to chew her nails again, looking at the three passages Rocky had indicated. She didn’t want to think about what else could have been lurking in the undiscovered parts of the mine. She had to make the right decision, to choose the right path to get to her son and her best friend. If she chose wrong… She shook her head. “We can sit here and stare at this map all day long. Let’s get moving. We could cover more ground if we split up,” she said, handing the book to Rocky as she stood.

“Or we could get more people lost,” Krem countered. He chewed the inside of his cheek for a moment before he turned to start gathering up the equipment he and the other Chargers often used for getting around the mine. “It’s your call. I’m just here to follow orders.”

Rocky huffed as he looked at all three passageways again and pointed to the middle one, “This is the one I would put money on. You should start with that one. The rest of us will go in groups to the other two.”

Bull nodded. “Then Cass, Varric and Rocky with me in the middle passage. Krem, Skinner and Dalish take one. Grim and Stitches in another. Eyes open and go slow. Last thing we need is to have to organize another search party in case someone gets reckless,” he said and moved to pick up his axe again. “Horns up!” he called out and motioned for Rocky to lead the way.

Varric reached out for Cassandra as she moved to get her shield and sword from Krem, his eyes darted over her, looking for any injury. “Hey, he’s going to be alright. Sparkler’s not one to be messed with. He’ll keep our kid safe.” He breathed, wondering briefly if he was trying to convince her or himself.

Cassandra didn’t trust her voice in that moment, so she set her jaw and nodded. She eyed the gear Rocky carried as she grabbed a torch. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know what all of it was for or what obstacles they might encounter along the way. She had to force herself to take shorter strides as they began to follow the passage behind Rocky; she could’ve run him over by now if she hadn’t been paying attention.

She huffed, growing more impatient by the second. Every time Rocky stopped to double check the map, she wanted to stomp her foot or growl in frustration. “Could we please move faster?” she finally growled out.

“Easy Cass,” Bull rumbled. “Let the man work. You don’t want to go too fast and miss something crucial,” he said, hearing Rocky grunt in agreement as he compared the map with what he was seeing, “And we don’t want to walk head first into another dragon.”

Varric pressed his lips thin, somehow managing to keep his stride up with Cassandra’s. He really did not care for caves at all. Where normal dwarves that went up to the surface thought that they would fall up into the sky, he felt as if the inky blackness was going to swallow him whole. Memories of the expedition with Hawke flashed in his mind’s eye and he took a breath to calm his growing nerves.

“There is no such thing as too fast,” Cassandra snipped, but didn’t argue the point further. She caught Varric breathing slowly, the distant look in his eyes. She reached over to squeeze his shoulder. “We are going to find him,” she said softly, thinking he was beginning to stress too much over the situation. “We will not stop until he is with us again.” She frowned at the look on Varric’s face. “Or is there something more that is bothering you?”

Varric felt himself come back to reality when he felt his wife squeeze his shoulder. He blinked a moment and looked at her. “It’s nothing,” he said as he reached up and covered her hand with his, “I know we will get him back, but shit. Did it have to be in a Maker damned cave?” He breathed out and looked ahead, grateful for the torchlight.

Bull let his gaze flicker to Varric, picking up on the subtle way he moved, the way his eyes shifted around the cavern. The sweat prickling on his brow. Shallow breaths. Well, shit. He had an admiration for the dwarf, facing one of his fears like this and he knew parents would go through great feats to save their children. Though, when it was in a situation like this when anything could go wrong at any time, it was risky. He shifted his axe on his shoulder, moving to think on Dorian, he wondered how he was holding up.

Cassandra wasn’t satisfied with Varric’s answer, but decided he was under enough stress that now was not the time to argue with him. She moved her hand to the back of his neck, letting her thumb rub at the tense muscles there as they walked. She kept looking over at him, worrying for him now too and whatever was on his mind. She was so focused on him that she nearly tripped over Rocky and she had to grab hold of Varric to keep from falling.

Her eyes went wide when she saw the reason Rocky had stopped. “Maker, what is that?” she gasped. A huge hole in the floor of the mine made it impossible to continue. Cautiously, she edged closer and looked over the edge. The hole appeared to go straight down and her torch only illuminated the first few feet of descent. Her eyes went wide. “Where does this lead?”

Rocky narrowed his eyes, holding his torch over the side, kneeling down and touching the edge of the hole, rubbing his hands over the side, “This wasn’t made by explosives. It’s not on the map either. I think ‘giant ass hole in the ground’ would be one of the first things to put on here. This thing is big enough to be it’s own landmark. Shit.” He frowned and looked to the side, picking up a loose rock by his foot and held it over the edge before he let go and turned his head to listen for it to hit the bottom.

It never came.

“That isn’t good,” Cassandra commented after several moments. Her eyebrows furrowed as she frowned. “There is no such thing as a bottomless pit. It is not possible. There has to be a bottom to it!” She huffed in frustration. “So now what do we do?”

Varric swallowed nervously as he looked over the edge of the pit. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I don’t see a way across. It’s time to go back and meet up with one of the other groups.”

“Nope,” Rocky said as he slid his back from his shoulders and opened it up. He pulled out several tightly bundled lengths of rope. “We’re going down there. This hole is big enough to fit at least ten dragons side by side. It’s probably how your dragon got in there in the first place. This is the way to go,” he reasoned, looking over his shoulder at Bull, “Don’t know how we’re going to get you down there Chief.”

Bull growled as he looked over the side. “We’ll find away. Double up on the length of rope and make sure it’s tied off nice and tight. I’ll be the last one down, last one up. Someone needs to go down first and see if there’s a ledge or maybe a tunnel that goes into the side of this thing. Can’t imagine going straight on for a mile is going to get us anywhere except an early grave.”

“I’ll go first,” Cassandra said as she handed her torch to Varric and grabbed up a harness from Rocky. If this was the way the dragon had got in, then surely it would lead to a way to find her son. She waited for the dwarf to tie off the end of the rope around a solid rock formation, then threaded the other end through the ring that she would use to rappel down. She stood at the edge of the pit, shaking her head slightly as she looked down into it. “If there is a way to the bottom without falling, I will find it,” she promised before she looked to Varric and reached her hand out. “I need the torch,” she said simply.

Varric gave her a look but passed her the torch any way. “I don’t like this,” he muttered, catching her wrist when she took the light from him, “Just...don’t do anything reckless.” His chest was heavy. He didn’t know how they were going to get out of this, he didn’t want to lose his family all in one day. “Fuck, are you sure about this?”

Cassandra met his eyes with a sincere look. “This whole day has been reckless,” she answered. “But I do not see another way. If this is truly how that dragon got in, then it must lead to Anthony and Dorian. We will lose too much time if we backtrack now. Do not worry. I will be fine.” She leaned over and pressed a firm kiss to his lips before she backed up to the edge. She drew a sharp breath through her nose, holding the torch in one hand and the rope in the other, then leaned slightly back as she began to rappel down the wall of the pit.

Varric dared look over so he could watch her descent into the darkness, as did Rocky and Bull. He would lose it if she fell and he couldn’t get the image of the rope snapping and the blackness swallowing her whole.

Bull observed the Seeker moving carefully. “That’s it, Cass. You’re doing fine. Make sure to keep your eyes open. Any kind of tunnel big enough for a dragon like the one we saw. We weren’t down that far where we met him,” he called to her.

Cassandra nodded before she realized they probably couldn’t see her that well. “Alright!” she called back up to him. She didn’t want to break her concentration and make a mistake. One wrong move and it was all over, she was sure of it. She looked around her, searching for anything she could see that might give some indication of where the pit led to.

The descent was slow as she took her time, making certain not to slip or miss anything around her. The wall was slicker than she’d anticipated it being and she bounced her foot with every step to test it before she moved again.

A strange sound met Cassandra’s ears and she froze.

_Skitter. Skitter…. skitter skitter._

She swung the torch wide, looking all around her for the source of the sound, but saw nothing. Her breathing became ragged, a cold sweat on the back of her neck. What in the world was that noise?

_Skitter, skitter, skitter._

“Varric!” she called up to him, a note of panic in her voice. “Is that you or Bull making that sound? What is that?!”

The dwarves exchanged a look with Bull who shook his head, looking fiercely over the side. Varric cursed under his breath and pulled his crossbow from his back and he called out, “We’re not making any sound! Is something down there with you? What does it sound like!” He called out to her, trying to steady his breathing, “Where is it coming from? I can take it out if it’s a threat!” He hoped, he couldn’t see worth shit, Cassandra’s location given away only the bob of the torch flame.

Cassandra held her breath as she listened. Even more disturbing now was the fact that everything around her had gone completely silent. It was as if she could hear her own pulse pounding in her ears and nothing more. She closed her eyes, although it really wasn’t necessary, to try to listen harder for the sound again. After several moments, she exhaled and opened her eyes again, looking up to the mouth of the pit where she could make out the glow of the other torches. “It stopped!” she called out.

Perhaps it had only been her imagination. No, that couldn’t have been it. She was certain she’d heard something. She wasn’t prone to an overactive imagination, that was the realm of her husband and son. She was far too practical, and skeptical, to imagine such things. There was something there with her, but she didn’t have time to dwell on it. She had to reach the bottom, or at least find a ledge so the others could climb down. She set her mind on her son again and continued with her climb.

The darkness and silence seemed to press in on her as she slowly made her way down the wall, which was becoming ever slipperier. The air was cooler here. It was beginning to seem much more like a cave than a mine. Her foot slipped on the wet rock face and she gasped, clinging to the rope as she regained her footing. “Shit,” she whispered to herself as she bowed her head and closed her eyes again, calming her breathing.

When she opened her eyes again, the light of her torch glowed on the wall, illuminating something very odd indeed. The surface of the wet rock was marred by long, thin scratches. She narrowed her eyes slightly as she stared at them and switched the torch into the same hand as the rope so she could reach out to touch them. The scratches were more than superficial. They dug deep enough into the rock that her fingertips caught on them as she touched them.

She pulled back and switched the torch back to her free hand, and moved it around to survey the wall. It was covered in claw marks! But the most unsettling thing about it, was some of the marks seemed to have a distinctive pattern, like a type of rune writing. “What is this?” she breathed. She looked up again, “There is something down here! Marks on the wall, like writing! I cannot read it!”

“Writing on the walls?” Bull echoed, “Did I hear her correctly?” He looked down to where she was. “How the hell did someone write on the walls in the middle of a fucking chasm?” He growled and huffed, “Shit’s getting weird again.” He grimaced and looked to Varric. “Writing’s kind of your thing. Maybe when she gets to the bottom or whatever she finds, you go down and see if you can make heads or tails of it. Might be dealing with some kind of weird ass cult or some shit like that,” he said lowly.

Varric felt his gut clench at the idea and he looked over the side, trying to see exactly where his wife was, but it was pointless. He called out to her, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt. “Just get to somewhere safe and I’ll be down to look!” He put his crossbow onto his back again and rubbed at his face. He hated caves.

Cassandra didn’t argue. Something about the writing sent chills down her spine. It was too rough, too strange for her liking, as if there was something sinister just in the writing itself. She tore her eyes from the wall and concentrated again on climbing, telling herself over and over that she had to be close to a ledge or hopefully the bottom.

_Skitter, skitter, skitter!_

She gasped as she heard it again and turned this way and that, trying to see something, anything in the darkness. Her torch flashed over something on the wall to her far left, and she choked on a cry as whatever it was moved out of the light.

What was it? Where did it go?

Her hand shook as she reached out with the torch, its light flickering terribly from the trembling of her arm. _Where was it?!_ Things didn’t just disappear.

The only sound now was her rapid breaths and the pounding of her heart again. She had to get off of this wall, she had to get her feet on solid ground again so she could fight whatever that thing was. As it was, she was hanging bait and nothing more.

She checked her footing on the wall, determined to climb down faster. But as she looked ahead again, a blood-curdling hiss sounded and all she saw was a huge mouth full of sharp teeth between her and the wall. She screamed and flailed, the torch falling from her grasp as she kicked away from the creature.

Varric felt his heart stop and his blood run cold as he heard his wife scream and he watched helplessly as the torch vanished from sight. “CASSANDRA!” he yelled after her, leaning so far over the hole, Bull reached out to stop him from tumbling in. “CASSANDRA! ANSWER ME!” She couldn’t have fallen, she couldn’t have. What the hell had happened? Why did she scream? What was down there?

Bull tightened his grip on the dwarf’s shoulder. “Easy,” he said, but his eye was narrowed and he tried to peer down the hole, but it was useless. Without the torch, it was pitch black. “Her line still has tension.” He didn’t want to say that it could be something other than her. Something that caused her to scream.

Cassandra cried out as she hit the wall, clinging to the rope for dear life. She felt blood trickle down the side of her face, and pain bloomed in her hip, but didn’t have time to think on it. Frantic panting issued from her as she looked around blindly in the darkness, straining to see where that thing had gone. She’d nearly expected to be eaten alive when she swung back towards the wall. She drew her sword, prepared to fight back should she be attacked. But whatever it had been seemed to have disappeared now.

“I’m fine!” she shouted back up to them. She didn’t know if she should tell them what she saw or not. She didn’t want to worry them even more than she already had. She swallowed harshly and tried to calm her breathing, but couldn’t quite manage it. “I’m starting to hate caves now too,” she muttered under her breath.

Varric practically fell back with relief when he heard her, but his fear didn’t go away. If anything it grew. “What the hell is down there that made her scream like that? Cassandra doesn’t scream at anything in fear.” He pressed his lips together and shook his head. “This is bad. Any author worth his salt knows what happens in situations like these and it never ends well for anyone involved.”

“You should spend more time underground,” Rocky said, “It’s a different world when you turn the lights off and if you aren’t prepared for it, it will get you.”

“Yeah, no shit.”

“Quiet,” Bull said in a sober tone of voice, “Cassandra doesn’t have the luxury of light any more. If she’s going to have any chance against whatever is down there, she’s got to be able to hear it coming.”

There was nothing for it. Cassandra had to continue down blindly. She moved slower than before, but she had no choice. In the absolute darkness, all she could see in her mind was that mouth full of teeth. It happened so fast, she’d barely been able to register what she’d seen.

She nearly cried in relief when her foot hit a ledge wide enough to stand on. She quickly ran the rest of the rope through the ring on her harness and realized with a start just how little rope she’d had left. Her knees shook and she quickly sat down, shaking all over. “I found a ledge!” she called up to them. “Climb down and bring more torches!”

Varric was relieved and fearful at the same time. She had made it, but now it was his turn. “This is the absolute worst idea ever in the history of bad ideas,” he muttered as he took the harness from Rocky and made certain it was secure around him and that Bianca was firmly on his back. He took a torch from Bull. “Thanks, Tiny,” he said before he stood on the edge, “I suppose now would be a bad time to mention that I have never done this before in my life, right?”

He had a tight grip on the rope as he let himself go backwards and there was one horrifying moment when he thought for sure he would just keep falling, but the rope was strong and held him fast. “Shit,” he breathed out shakily as he took another step backwards and another, until before he knew it, he was already a good ways from where he had started. “I changed my mind!” he called up.

“Too damn bad! Keep moving!” He heard Rocky’s answering voice.

He shook his head and somehow forced his legs to keep moving, though they felt like they had turned to lead. “This would make for a shitty story. The lone dwarf and his companions, bait on a string for whatever the hell lived in the depths of the mine under Kirkwall. I’ll call it, How to Feed Your Dragon.” Talking kept him from losing his nerve. It kept him focused on something other than the darkness around him, the cold that was starting to seep into him, the slickness of the stones beneath his feet that threatened his life with each step.

He then noticed the grooves on the wall, holding the torch up to inspect them. This must have been what Cassandra had seen. His eyes narrowed as he looked at them, they looked like claw marks. Big, ass claw marks. She was right. It did look like some kind of writing. A message, a warning. “But how did they get here?” he pondered as he committed the markings he could see to memory. He would have to write them down when he got to where his wife was.

Cassandra just stared up into the darkness, watching as the glow from Varric’s torch slowly but surely grew closer. Over and over she silently prayed to the Maker that he wouldn’t encounter the same thing she had, that he would make it safely to the ledge she sat on. She prayed that Anthony and Dorian were okay, that they hadn’t run into any problems either. “You’re almost there, Varric,” she called out to him. “Take your time. You will be fine!”

“Fuck this shit,” he called back to her, “The only way I’m going to be fine is when we find our son and get the hell back into sunlight. Then I’ll be fine.” It was a small relief to him that her voice was so close. Much closer than he thought it would be. And thank the Maker that he hadn’t run into anything that made him scream on the way down. He about cried with relief as he felt his feet touch solid ground and he saw Cassandra with the flame of the torch, “Here.” He said as passed her the torch so he could quickly unhook himself and then immediately drew her into his arms. “Shit, Cassandra. When I saw your torch drop away, I thought…” His voice caught in his throat and he shook his head as he pulled back to look up at her.

She gave him a sympathetic smile. “I am fine,” she said softly and brushed some loose strands of his hair behind his ear. She pressed a gentle kiss to his lips and touched her forehead to his, trying to calm him. “Breathe,” she commanded in a soft tone. “It will take more than that to kill me.” She squeezed at the back of his neck, then called up to Bull and Rocky that Varric had reached the ledge. She pulled back from Varric and got to her feet. “Rest for a moment. I’m going to look around and see where we go from here. I am not so eager to climb down the rest of the way if we do not have to.”

“Yeah,” he breathed, unamused with the idea of doing that again, “Me either.” He reached to his pocket and pulled out his little notebook and opened it up to an empty page with a pencil as a bookmark, “Gonna write down those weird symbols you saw. See if they make any more sense when I’m not hanging to life by a cord.”

“So you saw them too?” she asked as she looked around, not moving the torch too much so he could see what he was doing. “I had hoped I imagined it. Could you read any of it? It was like no writing I have ever seen before.” She frowned when he shook his head. “Damn.”

When he was done writing, she moved more to look at the wall. It seemed solid and for a moment, she thought they were going to have to rappel down the rest of the way. Her heart sank. She really didn’t fancy the idea of doing that again. Then her eyes caught on a dark spot on the wall. She moved closer, dropping to her knees to inspect it. She could feel a breeze through it. “Here,” she breathed excitedly. “We can crawl through here instead of climbing down. Oh thank the Maker!”

“Crawl?” Varric echoed, “Are you sure that’s going to work for Tiny? You know he’s gotta have enough head room.” He didn’t like the idea of having to crawl between rocks that were pressing down on all sides of him. He closed his eyes, fighting off the wave of fear and memories it brought back. Squeezing through narrow passageways in the Deep Roads, darkspawn and monsters around every corner. Demons whispering quiet promises in his ear. His brother laughing at him as he left them for dead.

Cassandra frowned as she studied the small passage. “I think he can make it. He will have to watch his horns, but I think it can be done. If he cannot, then we will have to move on without him,” she said and got to her feet, brushing her knees off as Rocky made it to the ledge. “I think we have found a way through,” she told him.

Varric tucked his book away, looking at the hole illuminated by Cassandra’s torch. Shit, he didn’t like this. At least he had until Bull got down there to steel himself. His thoughts were interrupted when a loud WHUMP sounded behind him, followed by the sound of the stones groaning, a few crumbling away. He spun on his heel, his eyes wide as he saw Bull standing there unhooking his harness. “What the hell, Tiny?! Rocky just got here! Did you just jump off the edge?”

Bull grinned as he walked over, looking down at Varric and cryptically said, “Maybe. You all were taking too long. Glad that rock ledge out there was able to hold my weight.” He laughed, rich and loud at the expression on everyone’s faces, “Oh come on. Like you really expected me to do that the normal way. Let’s move, we’ve got people to rescue.”


	5. Chapter 5

Cassandra disapprovingly shook her head at Bull. “Let’s keep moving,” she said and went to the small passage through the wall. She got on her hands and knees again, but realized that even then she was too tall to fit through. She unstrapped the shield from her back and set it aside. “Someone will have to slide it through to me after I am through,” she said and sheathed her sword. She laid flat on her chest and grimaced. How long had they been in here already? It had to have been several hours; her breasts ached, making her realize how long it had been since she’d nursed her baby. This was going to be miserable.

She grit her teeth and stretched one arm out in front of her to feel her way as she began to crawl through. There wasn’t a lot of room to move through, but she didn’t feel trapped either. But she was more slender than any of the others and she worried if they could make it through, especially Bull with as broad as his shoulders were.

She felt her way blindly through the darkness, slapping her hand against the floor and the low ceiling until she couldn’t feel the ceiling anymore. “Thank the Maker,” she breathed and hurriedly wiggled through, then slowly stood up, grateful to be able to stand at her full height. “I am through!” she called back. “It is only about six feet or so to crawl through!”

Bull hummed his approval and knelt down, throwing her shield after her. “I’ll go next. Might need you guys to push from the back in case I get stuck,” he said as he studied the rocks for a moment before he growled. Had to do it. Had to get to Dorian and the little kid. He snorted as he started crawling, remembering to keep his head down as he pulled himself forward with his arms. His back scraped the top of the passage and it was only slightly uncomfortable. He wondered when a family had become the most important thing to him when he never had one before. “If this was any smaller, we would have a problem.”

“Good,” Rocky said, “Because I forgot the butter back at the inn.” He tied a rope around the rest of the supplies and held onto it as he crawled in after his boss.

Varric watched as Bianca was tugged along as well. His lips pressed thin as he knelt in front of the passage. He could do this. For his son, he could do this. He chanted it over and over in his head, grateful that there was no light. He couldn’t see the walls pressing down on him. He could almost imagine he was just crawling on the ground for the sheer fun of it. “Shit caves,” he muttered as he worked his way forward, trying to focus on his breathing.

Cassandra strapped her shield to her back and grabbed up one of the torches that Rocky rolled through the passage. The new passage they stood in was only slightly taller than Bull’s horns and about as wide as a normal doorway. It curved off to the right , but seemed to go one for a way from what she could see. Good. It would give them all time to get their bearings again after that awful climb down.

She could still feel blood trickling down the side of her face and she gingerly touched her head, just above her temple. It stung, but nothing major. She caught Bull looking at her and moved the torch away from that side of her face. “It’s nothing,” she muttered. Really what hurt more than anything was her breasts, but she wasn’t about to mention that either.

Varric was taking longer than she thought he should have. She knelt down near the narrow passage and peered through to look at him. She could see the way he squeezed his eyes shut, the sweat on his forehead. It bothered her to see how much this bothered him. “Varric,” she said calmly, “you are nearly there. I am right here. Come on, love.”

Varric swallowed hard and nodded, crawling forward once more. He used her voice as his focus, something to take his mind away from the pain in his knees, the palms of his hands. The fear that was clouding his mind. The air was cool, only slightly stale. Not unlike what he would imagine a tomb would feel like. That thought had him scrabbling forward and he grasped Cassandra’s hand, letting her help pull him out into the open. He leaned back against the wall, taking a deep breath. “Water, please,” he asked, hoping his voice wasn’t shaking as bad as he thought.

Bull dug into his own pack and passed off a water skin to him. “Hopefully we won’t have any more of those narrow short passages. I am sure to get my horns stuck in the rocks above me next time.”

“Don’t do that,” Cassandra said to Bull as she backed off and gave Varric some space to breathe. This was really getting to her husband, but they didn’t have time to waste. She waited for him to gulp down some water before she arranged her features, looking serious once more. “We must move on. Surely we are getting closer.” They had to be closer after all of that. Though now that they were in an undiscovered part of the Bone Pit, there was no way of telling for certain. Where this new passage led could take them in a completely opposite direction from Dorian and Anthony.

“You sure you are ready to go? You’re still bleeding, cuts on the forehead will do that to you, they are a pain in the ass to get them to stop.” He said this quietly, only she could hear him. He didn’t want Varric to freak out any more than he already was. He seemed to be in his own little world at the moment. “Might not seem sanitary, but if you rub some dirt in that, should slow it down long enough for it to clot.”

“I’m fine,” Cassandra answered softly and made sure to hold the torch on the opposite side where the light wouldn’t show her bleeding. “Come. We must hurry,” she said a little louder and started down the new passage, though she trailed the fingers of her free hand along the wall, then gingerly rubbed at the split in her scalp.

The passage continued on for some way, and Cassandra was thankful that there was enough space for them to comfortably move. But that was the only thing comfortable about the place. An eerie energy seemed to permeate the air, making her feel as though she was being watched. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end and wave after wave of chills shot down her spine. It was the darkness, the silence, the knowledge that so much rock and earth bore down overhead. More than once, she caught herself shaking her head, trying to clear away the heavy foreboding she felt in her chest.

A child’s giggle met her ears and she drew to an abrupt stop, straining her ears to hear it again. “Anthony?” she called out, taking a few steps forward. “Dorian?” She went quiet again for a moment, trying to hear it again, but no sound came. She looked over her shoulder at the men, “Did you hear that?”

Rocky came to a stop, ears straining as he tried to hear anything that sounded like the missing boy or the mage. He heard some soft chittering that reminded him of the nugs they would occasionally find out on missions with the rest of the Chargers. Especially when with the Inquisition. “Nothing but nugs. They’re a long way down from the surface. Wonder how they got in here this far.”

“I don’t hear anything,” Bull said, “Could be that the silence is playing tricks on your mind.”

Cassandra narrowed her eyes. “My mind does not play tricks on me,” she said sternly. “You should know me well enough to know that. And it was not nugs,” she added, looking at the dwarf in the darkness. “I heard a child’s laugh. I know it!” With an irritated huff, she started forward again, her heart daring to hope that she would hear her son. Or even better, to see him or Dorian.

She thought on it as she walked along. How could they have not heard it? It was clear as day to her. Though to be fair, all noise seemed muffled in this passage. Perhaps the only reason she heard it was because she was at the front of their party. Yes, that had to be it. She felt less frustrated by that thought and held onto it. Anthony had to be close. Surely any moment now she would stumble upon her son and they could go home.

Bull lifted his axe from his back, keeping it tightly in his hands. He was trying to hear what Cassandra claimed to hear, “Any kid that can laugh in this place…” He muttered. The light threw shadows around the walls and the passage ahead. It almost looked like demons were slinking along, waiting for one of them to falter. A shiver ran down his spine as he could have sworn he could hear them whispering to each other. 

Varric wished he could hear his son’s laughter or Sparkler’s voice telling the kid a joke. All he could hear were sounds of the earth around them. As if it were an old wooden structure that had stood far beyond its time, groaning and cracking as if it were going to come crashing down on them at any moment. “I’d give anything to hear them.”

“Then listen harder,” Cassandra replied coolly. The longer she walked, the more frustrated she became. Why had she not heard Anthony again? He had sounded as if he were just around the corner only minutes before. She kept expecting to see him, to hear Dorian, to just suddenly bump into them. With every passing moment, her hope dwindled. Where could they be? How much longer would she have to search for them.

_“Mommy!”_

Cassandra gasped again, her eyes wide as she heard her son’s voice call out to her. “Anthony?” she answered, hurrying forward again. “Talk to me. I will find you!” She tried to hold her breath to keep as silent as possible, listening for him, but her heart raced and she had to gasp for air. She rounded on the others behind her. “Surely you heard him that time??”

Varric look worriedly at his wife and he shook his head. “Cassandra, there’s nothing there. It’s too damn quiet in here,” he said, looking around the passageway, “I’m not saying I don’t believe you, just maybe what you are hearing isn’t really there.”

Bull tightened his grip on his axe. “Could be demons. I can see them in the shadows, hiding. Waiting for one of us to trip up. I can hear them,” he growled. “As if they were standing right next to me. Damn it. Why did Cole have to put that idea in my head!” he said as he looked over his shoulder.

“There are no demons here,” Cassandra argued. She could clearly see that the passageway was free from those monsters and the sounds she’d heard were definitely not demonic. “There are no more rifts for them to come through. Now who is the one imagining things?”

“Can’t you guys keep your heads about you?” Rocky asked. He didn’t hear much, nothing but normal cave noises. Maybe the unexpected scrabbling or skittering on the rocks, but nothing to make him go crazy. “Maybe I should be leading the way, since I’m the only one with any stone sense around here,” he said, looking over at Varric pointedly.

Varric forced himself not to roll his eyes at that. “Oh yes, by all means, navigate us by talking to the rocks. That is if you haven’t been on the surface for too long. I hear that goes away the longer you are up in fresh air,” he said, he was a bit more irritated than usual. Fear for his son and his friend were plaguing his mind almost as much as the rocks around them. He let out a heavy sigh, looking to Cassandra worriedly. He moved to walk next to her. “If you can hear him, maybe that’s all that matters. maybe we’re all going crazy, but you can hear him.”

Bull frowned at that, but looked to Rocky, “Ease up on that whole Dwarven thing. You know everyone is on edge. Everyone getting worked up into a frenzy is exactly what we don’t need. We let ourselves get distracted, then whatever went after Cass back there will have just the opportunity it’s been waiting for.” His eye widened at that. “Cass, you don’t think that whatever creature that attacked you is making us hear things?”

Cassandra shook her head and held the torch out farther in front of her. She didn’t know how bad her face might’ve looked, but she didn’t want Varric to notice if she could help it. “It seemed far more interested in eating me than putting strange thoughts in my head or making me imagine that I am hearing things,” she answered. She groped for Varric’s hand in the darkness, squeezing it, drawing comfort from the fact that he was by her side.

She came to a stop when the passage split off into two. Logic told her to take the wider path, but something seemed to pull at her from the narrower passage. She stood there for a moment, debating, moving the torch back and forth between the options. “Maker guide me,” came her whispered prayer. Her feeling toward the smaller pass grew stronger and she squeezed Varric’s hand again before she released it and trudged forward.

Varric tried his best not to stop short when she picked the smaller way. He wanted to find his son and get the hell out of there. He wanted to feel fresh air and the sun on his skin. Though the thought of going back now, having to crawl through that path again. He couldn’t stop the shudder that worked its way through him and he squeezed Cassandra’s hand tighter.

Cassandra had only taken a few steps into the passage when she heard a sound that made her blood run cold. Crying. Only it wasn’t Anthony. She knew her children well enough to know their laughter, their cries, every noise they made. And that was not her son. The cry sounded like her daughter.

“No. No, no, no,” she breathed as terror seemed to clutch at her chest and she backpedaled, nearly knocking Varric over. It didn’t make sense. It wasn’t possible. She really was hearing things. She stumbled backwards to rest against the wall, her free hand on her chest, her breathing panicked. “Someone else take the lead,” she said, offering the torch out to whoever wanted to take it, her hand shaking horribly again.

Varric watched as Rocky all too happily took the torch from Cassandra and stepped out in front as Bull and himself moved to her side. He reached out to her, taking her hands in his. She was shaking so badly and he looked to her, reaching up to cup her face. “Seeker,” he said, “Cassandra, what was it? What did you see? Hear?” He brushed his thumb across her high cheekbone, just above her scar. “Come back to me.”

Her panicked breathing eased a bit as she looked at him in the dim light. She didn’t want to say it out loud. She knew how crazy it would sound. She closed her eyes for a moment, leaning into his touch, before she met his eyes again. “I heard Lily crying,” she breathed, her voice barely above a whisper. “I know it is crazy, Varric, but I heard her. I know her cry. There is something here messing with my mind.”

Varric’s eyes widened and he looked to Bull who exchanged a knowing glance before the Qunari turned and went over to Rocky to warn him. The storyteller looked back at his wife, stepping closer to her. “I believe you, you know I do. It’s just this damned place playing tricks on us. Maybe it has to do with that strange writing on the wall, who knows. What I do know is that we are going to find our son. Find Sparkler and get the hell out of this cursed place. We have to ignore whatever it is and keep moving on.”

She nodded shakily and pushed away from the wall, standing up straight again. “You are right. That is why I let someone else lead. I could have led us into a trap because I cannot trust my own ears now,” she said. She drew a shaky breath and exhaled slowly, taking his hand again. She wanted to kick herself for thinking it would be that easy to find Anthony, for getting her hopes up. “I should have known better. If it had truly been Anthony, I would have heard Dorian as well.”

“That and they would have at least answered you back. I seriously doubt even Sparkler would find it in good taste to play a game of hide and seek in the creepy dark mine with possible dragons lurking around the corner.” He sighed and gently tugged her so they could follow Bull and Rocky. “You have a good sense about these things, Cassandra. Maybe don’t listen to what you can hear. Go with what’s in here,” he said and pointed a finger at her chest, “You know that hasn’t led you wrong yet. The first instinct is always the best.”

She wasn’t so certain. “But I felt drawn to that narrower passage,” she answered. “I felt it. My brain said to take the wider one, but I felt drawn to the other. And that is where I heard her cry. Whatever this is, whatever is messing with me, it knows how to manipulate the way I feel.” She pressed her lips thin and shook her head. It frightened her more than she cared to admit.

Bull paused in his steps, hearing Cassandra. “Hold a moment, Rocky. Cass, if something is making you hear things, maybe it was trying to herd you, herd us exactly where it wants us to go. Like walking into a trap. You hear laughter, you go forward, you hear your baby crying and you go back.” He looked at his Charger, “Did you hear any weird crap trying to go into that narrow passage?”

Rocky didn’t want to answer, but he knew Bull knew him like the back of his own scarred hand. “Yeah. I suppose I did. More like a feeling. The feeling about the first time when I stepped out of Orzammar and felt like I was going to fall up into the sky.” He made a face and looked apologetically at Varric, “I suppose you might feel the same way coming underground. Sorry about that. It’s hard to wrap my head around.”

Varric nodded. “So, we go with Cassandra’s choice. No one knows better than a mother how to get back to her own children.” He gave her arm a squeeze, swallowing back his own fear. He could feel it, that crushing weight over their heads. He did not enjoy spending this long underground. It was starting to mess with him.

Cassandra watched as Bull and Rocky headed into the narrower path, Bull having to turn his shoulders slightly to fit through. “This is not as bad as crawling,” she said softly to Varric. “And certainly better than climbing down into a black bottomless pit.” She didn’t know if her words were helping him at all, but she hoped they did. She winced as she stepped into the narrow passage and heard her baby cry again. No, that was not Lily. And it had not been Anthony she’d heard. She tried to block it out as she walked the winding passage, but the cries seemed to become more frequent, Anthony’s laughter sounding in front of her, then behind her. It was disorienting and more than once she stumbled as the sounds seemed to swirl around her. “Andraste, make it stop,” she breathed.

“Fuck,” Bull mutter, demons whispering all round him. Once, he thought he heard a familiar voice whispering above the others, telling him that it wasn’t real. “I’m going to need some serious drinks when we find them,” he muttered under his breath, he nearly tripped over Rocky in his distraction. “What’s the matter? Why did you stop?”

The dwarf shook his head and pointed in front of them at the ground. It was another passageway that was on the ground. It appeared to be about the same height as the last one they passed through. “Got another one we get to crawl into.” He turned and handed the torch to Bull as he began to gather the supplies and tie them together so he could drag them along behind him. “I’ll go first, see if it doesn’t just lead to another dead end.”

Cassandra stopped when she heard Rocky and she reached back to squeeze Varric’s hand again. He’d looked so damn upset when he’d had to go through the last one. She didn’t want to see her husband go through that again. “We can go back,” she said. “Try the other passage. It hasn’t been that long to walk through here. Surely we will not lose that much time?”

Varric bit his lip, everything in him screaming to go back and take the easier path. “No, this is where we need to go. We have to do it, and we had better find another damn way out because I am not backtracking. Rocky can make us an exit with all that dynamite,” he said and he slipped his arm around Cassandra’s waist, watching as the other dwarf took their weapons and crawled into the path.

Bull listened as Rocky called back to them that the path was just fine, though slightly longer than the last one. “Craaap.” Bull rolled his shoulders as he looked down at the new obstacle. “It’ll be alright. Maybe I’ll widen the thing after I go through,” he attempted a lighthearted joke, before he gestured to Cassandra, “Might want to go on through, if I get stuck, you will be my best bet to get out. No offense to the dwarves, but their kind of short.”

Cassandra nodded and managed to squeeze past Bull, then laid on the ground to crawl through the passage. She was better prepared for it this time and braced herself on her elbows, keeping her chest a mere couple inches off the ground. The hard, unforgiving rock made her forearms protest in pain, but it was better than laying on her chest. She pushed herself forward with her toes, making her way through.

Even she felt a bit closed in this time. The passage was definitely longer than the last one they’d crawled through and she ruefully thought that Rocky had lied when he said it was only “slightly longer” than the last. She calmed her breathing, dragging herself on her elbows, shifting her hips in an army crawl. She hoped there was another way out of this place; she didn’t want to have to go back the way they’d came. She squeezed her eyes shut as she heard Anthony’s voice call out to her again. It was madness. She didn’t know how much longer she could listen to those fake cries that sounded so real to her that no one else could hear.

She exited the passage with a cry, sucking air into her lungs in relief. “That was much longer than the last one,” she hissed at Rocky as she got to her feet. She turned and bent double to call back to Bull that she was through.

Rocky pressed his lips together a moment. “Yeah, well, your husband probably wouldn’t have appreciated it if I yelled back the truth now, would he? Let them think it’s short. Less chance of the stone catching up to him,” he reasoned before he called out for the next one to come on through.

Bull looked at Varric, “Don’t suppose you will be wanting to go first then? Still trying to work up the nerve? I didn’t realize you were claustrophobic this badly.”

“Long story about that, I’ll tell you about it once we are far away from this place,” he said, breathing out through his nose as he looked down at the hole. “Go on Tiny. I’ll be just a moment more,” he said with a pained voice.

Bull nodded and got to work. It was vaguely familiar as the last time. Keeping his head down was a pain and the rocks kept digging into his thick skin. That was nothing, he could deal with that as he pushed himself through. What he couldn’t deal with was how loud the whispers around him were getting. Like someone blowing on the back of your neck.

_“Don’t look now, Iron Bull. We’re right behind you.”_

Right in his ear! Bull gave a shout. “SHIT! Get away!” he cried, knocking his head back as his body immediately tried to push up off the ground and the force of his back and all of his weight hit the rocks above him and his eyes widened as he heard them shifting and adrenaline coursed through his veins, the image of the rocks coming down on him fueling him on. He reached out with both hands and nearly sighed in relief when he felt Rocky and Cassandra grasp them and helped pull him out.

Cassandra fell back on her rear with the effort to pull Bull the rest of the way through the passage. “NO!” she cried and scrambled back to the mouth of the passage as it filled with dust, making her choke. Varric was still on the other side! “VARRIC!” she called out over the rumbling of the stones. She looked over and snatched the torch from Rocky, looking through the passage. The rumbling stopped, the dust settling. The passage was too long to tell if it had caved in completely at any point. But what she could see now appeared even narrower than before. “Varric, can you hear me? Can you see the torch?”

“Yeah! Can you tell Tiny that I am going to murder him if I make it over there?” Varric growled as he peered through the now tighter opening in front of him. He had dropped to his knees when he had heard the Qunari shout out, and then the rumbling as the rocks shifted. Not only was it now unstable, he didn’t even know if he was going to be able to fit. “SHIT,” he cursed and stood up to pace for a moment, his heart racing. He was stuck. Not going back and the only way forward was a shitty tunnel. “Come on, Tethras. Do it for Anthony.”

He swallowed hard and before he could think better of it, he dropped to his knees and started crawling into the space. He immediately regretted it of course. Using his toes to push him forward was about the only way he could move. Rocks pressed in on his shoulders, his back, his chest. Every time he took a breath, his body was cradled by the stone. The literal weight of a mountain pressing in on him. He couldn’t stop the strangled cry that made it out of his throat. The flame of the torch seemed so far away.

He reached out with an arm, desperate to pull himself forward, to make this go by faster, but he couldn’t pull himself up. He was exhausted already and he hadn’t even moved that far. He couldn’t turn his head to look back. Panic set in then. Memories of the Deep Roads, his brother’s betrayal swarmed him. He tried to push himself forward again with his feet, but his energy left him and he felt tears slipping down his cheeks. “Shit! I’m....” He swallowed hard, fear wrapping around him firmly, “I’m stuck!”


	6. Chapter 6

Cassandra felt her heart stop. “What?” she cried and moved to lay flat to look into the tunnel, ignoring the pain in her chest. She still couldn’t see him, the light wouldn’t reach that far. If she couldn’t see him, she definitely couldn’t reach him to try to pull him out. “Varric, you have to move! You can do this!” she called out to him. She pressed her forehead to the stone floor in frustration, clenching her jaw. She looked down the passage again. “Push yourself through! I know you can! Please, Varric!”

Varric could barely see, his eyesight was blurred with the tears in his eyes. He could hear Cassandra, hear the panic in her voice. His own panic was nearly cresting, one arm stuck to his side, the other useless in front of him. He could only move his feet and pushing himself forward took an effort that was akin to fighting a dragon. He would rather face the dragon at this point. He gave out a cry as it felt as though the rocks were pressing down on him tighter. How much would it take? One more shift of the rocks and everything that he was would be wiped from the world. “I can’t!” he cried out, but he tried again, pushing forward an inch or two more. He didn’t care how he sounded, what he looked like, or what they thought, he just wanted out. “Cassandra,” he sobbed.

Cassandra squeezed her eyes shut at the broken sound of his voice. Only one other time in her life could she remember him sounding like that. It broke her heart. “Varric,” she called back, “you can do this. You have to! Think of Anthony! Think of Lily! You cannot give up now.” She hated herself for pushing him like that, but there was no choice. “Just a little bit more and you will be out,” she lied, a loathing rising in her chest. “There is no other way now. You have to make it through. I am right here. You are fine, I swear it.” She felt her own eyes burn, wishing she’d told him to go ahead of her. Then he wouldn’t be faced with making such a nightmarish crawl. “Come on, Varric. Now!”

Varric tried to calm his breathing, listening to Cassandra list off all the reasons why he had to keep moving and herself, one of the most important of all. “Shit,” he ground out and with a renewed effort he pushed with his feet again, swearing that with each inch forward, there seemed to be a million more to go. The earth around him seemed to shift, to pound, but it was just his heartbeat. If he didn’t slow it down, he thought for sure that it would bring down the entire pile of rock on him. He didn’t like it, unable to move, squirm, anything. His breathing increased and his vision was hazy. Pain and fear lanced through him as he forced himself to keep moving. “Don’t…. don’t leave me here,” he called out before squeezing his eyes shut for a moment. He had no choice but to keep his arm in front of him. He couldn’t pull it back to his side, nor did he think it would even fit. 

Maker, were the walls getting smaller?

“Never,” Cassandra called back to him. “I will never leave you. Now don’t you dare give up! You hear me, Varric? Don’t you dare,” she choked out. Fear of a new kind creeped up her spine as she laid on that stone, her body aching, but her heart aching even worse. If he became truly trapped, she didn’t know what they would do, how they could possibly get him out. She hated this place even more. She scooted closer to the opening, stretching her arm into it, her face right at the mouth of the tunnel. “You are so brave,” she said, hoping to encourage him. “You have faced worse than this. You will get past this.”

He could make out her now. Her shadow at the mouth of the tunnel. He wanted to keep going, but he was so tired. He let his cheek rest on the rough stone beneath him. The smell of the wet rocks, the darkness around him. It was all too much and he bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from sobbing out again. He reached out as far as he could, grasping at the ground, feeling his nails scraping against the rough stone, chipping as he tried to pull himself forward as he pushed with his feet. He didn’t care, he just wanted out. 

Cassandra felt as if she were screaming in her own head, urging him on, as if her own desperation could somehow pull him out of that tunnel. She was suddenly aware of the feeling of being watched again, but she shrugged it off this time. Her husband was her only focus, the only thing in her mind at that moment. She wondered if she herself could even slip through that tiny passage. It had to be agony, to feel so pressed in, so trapped. As soon as they were out of this place, they were going somewhere open, somewhere warm, just their family to erase this horrible place from their minds.

A rumbling sound met her ears and turned her blood to ice. Were the rocks shifting again? She could see the tips of Varric’s fingers just at the edge of the light now. Oh thank the Maker, he was close. But what was that sound? Rock sliding on rock, a deep rumbling, and suddenly the rocks gave in, blocking Varric from her sight.

A gasp of horror escaped her and she jumped, but when she blinked, she could once again see her husband’s hand. What? She blinked rapidly to clear her vision. Yes, she could still see his hand. She scrubbed at her eyes with her fist; now whatever dwelled in that place was making her see things as well. She thought she might go absolutely mad. “Varric,” she gasped out, “please hurry.”

Varric could barely see, his vision tunneling in on Cassandra’s hand, her fingers outstretched for his own. He let out a frustrated noise when he strained to reach her, but failed. Every moment was agony, but he had to do it. He was too close now. He reset his feet again and pushed. Rocks beneath him were scratching him up, his head kept bumping the ceiling, but he kept moving. Kept pushing with his arm outstretched. He gave a cry as he felt his fingertips brush against hers. “Help me,” he gasped out, pushing up one more inch.

Cassandra wiggled a bit more into the passage, biting back a cry as the stones pressed her flatter against the floor. Oh Maker, that hurt. She reached for him, her fingers hooking on his. There was certainly no way she could pull him like that, her grip wasn’t good enough, but she could touch him. “Varric,” she said, fighting to keep her voice calm and even, “look at me, love. You are so close. I am right here. You have made it this far. You can do it.” She gave him a small smile and pulled at his hand as best as she could. If she could get a better grip on him, she could help him more. “It’s almost over.”

Pain was almost unbearable, but the relief at holding her hand gave him a renewed strength. He had her and he was almost free of the stone around him. The thought gave him energy enough to push forward. The stone above him didn’t quite press into him as much as it had and with a big more, he was able to lift his left more and push himself forward the last few inches, grasping Cassandra’s arm and felt her pull him forward. Bull’s larger palm, covered her hand and they pulled him free. 

Cassandra nearly sobbed and pulled her husband into her arms. “I knew you could do it,” she breathed. She pulled back to look at him. His face, arms, and chest were covered in scrapes that oozed blood. And there was a terrified look still in his eyes, but he was through. She sniffled and brushed his hair back a bit before she looked at Bull and Rocky. “We need to rest for a minute,” she said sternly. “Everyone should drink some water, take a moment to breathe.”

Varric barely noticed as Bull responded, nudged Rocky and the two moved away from them. This cavern was bigger, thank the Maker for that and they had some room to themselves. Varric didn’t try to suppress the shudder that worked its way through his frame as he gripped at Cassandra. “Shit,” he breathed, “Shit.” He stretched out his legs in front of him, but kept his hold on his wife. He wanted to joke, to make light, but nothing came to his mind. He couldn’t joke. There was nothing funny about this. It was a new situation for him and he did not want to repeat it. “I hope we don’t find any more of those things,” he said all too soberly, “Because I can’t do that again.” 

She held him, frowning at the way he shook. “If we do, we will find another way around,” she promised. “I will not put you through that again.” She dipped her head to kiss him, cupping his cheek. She grabbed up one of the water skins and offered it to him, watching him carefully. She wondered if now was the appropriate time to ask, but her worry nagged at her too much to keep her mouth shut. “There is something you have not told me,” she said. “This seems to bother you more than it should.”

Varric swallowed the water after a moment of drinking before he lowered the skin and closed his eyes, letting himself lean against her as he tried to sort out his thoughts so he could answer her question. “I’ve never been overly fond of caves. I know, unheard of for dwarves. But I was born on the surface, here in this city. I’ve never cared to live underground, but you know. It was never this bad. Not until…” He drifted off and closed his eyes at the memories, “Bartrand.”

“When we went on the expedition for the lyrium idol, I spared you some of the more gruesome details after he locked us away in that thaig so we could rot to death while he took all the glory. He did it before that red lyrium corrupted him, before it even had a chance. He left us to die,” he said sadly, fear laced behind his words. “Getting out was more of a trial than I bothered to tell you. It involved a lot of tight spaces and sudden cave ins. Not one of my best memories.”

She frowned and closed her eyes. She couldn’t imagine such a betrayal. “I am sorry,” she whispered. She now understood why he’d begged her not to leave him. She cupped his face in both of her hands, turning him to look at her, and met his eyes with an intense gaze. “I would never leave you down here. There is no force in this world that could make me abandon you. You know that, don’t you?” she asked.

He leaned forward in her embrace, resting their foreheads together, “Yeah, I know.” He reached up, his hand encircling her wrists. “I wish you hadn’t seen that. Repressed fears are best left as they are. I know you would never leave me, but I thought for, if just a moment, that whole pile of rock would come crashing down on me. Forcing me from you anyway.” He close his eyes against more tears that threatened to fall, but he blinked them away. “We need to find Anthony and Dorian and get the hell out of this place.”

She gently swiped her thumb over his closed eyes, brushing away the tears that hadn’t fallen. “I saw it fall,” she whispered. “For an instant, I thought I had lost you. It was a trick on my mind, but it terrified me. I do not want to think of a life without you.” She rubbed her nose against his, silently thanking the Maker that he was still with her. She gently kissed his lips, sighing against him. “We will find them. We should get moving. I fear what they may have encountered down here.”

Varric nodded against her, his body was starting to settle into a dull ache from the pain and the strenuous ordeal he had just been through now that the moment of danger had passed. He reached up, resting his hand on the curve of her neck a moment before he kissed her again and pulled back. He needed to feel like himself again, but he had a growing suspicion that wasn’t going to happen until they were well out of the Bone Pit. “I’m sure the last thing Sparkler would do is crawl through something like that.” He thumbed over his shoulder from where they had come, “If nothing else, but because his robes would be ruined.”

Cassandra couldn’t help but to laugh a little at that. “That is true,” she agreed and got to her feet, stretching slightly. “I know I have not supported the idea thus far, but I think Anthony being a dragon-hunter would be preferable to being a cave-explorer. Hopefully he never wants to enter a place like this again.” She reached out a hand and helped him to his feet, then brushed the dust from his back before she turned to look for Bull. “We are ready to go,” she called out. 

Varric wiped at his face a moment before he went over to the supplies and untied his crossbow. “Yeah, not doing that again,” he muttered as he reached down and picked up his wife’s shield, passing it to her wordlessly. 

“Hopefully, we won’t have to,” Rocky said as he came over to collect his own pack, “Looks like the cavern moves up, a bit. With a bit of luck, we should be fairly close to where your boy and the mage are.” He gave an uneasy look, “Which might mean more trouble. Dragonlings like to hang out around dragon lairs, don’t they? I’d be ready for a fight.”

Bull couldn’t stop the smirk from tugging at his lips despite himself. The situation was dire, but he lived to slay dragons. “As long as it’s not one of the big ones down here, I think we’ll be just fine.” He looked to Varric and Cassandra, quietly assessing them for a moment before he offered a smile, “You guys good?”

Cassandra gave a nod. “We are fine,” she answered. “But we will be better when we get out of this place.” She wanted to hope that Rocky was right, that he was telling the truth, but at the same time she didn’t want to get her hopes up. She had just witnessed him lying to her husband to keep him going and she wondered if he was doing it again now. Still, she had no choice but to follow him.

* * *

 

Krem was growing more frustrated by the hour. His group had explored the known part of the passage thoroughly, with no sign of Dorian or Anthony. They’d found another small passage, uncertain if it had been explored before or not. It wasn’t on the map. But now they were faced with a bigger problem. The path dropped off steeply and picked up on the other side. It wasn’t far, but it was far enough that they couldn’t jump it. He stared up at the ceiling, trying to gauge how many handholds he might be able to use to climb across. “I’ll have to go across, make a way for you to follow,” he told Dalish and Skinner. He was glad he wasn’t wearing his heavy armor.

Dalish frowned as she looked over the side of the edge, her ‘bow’ illuminating nothing but a dark pit. She looked back up, inspecting the ceiling and making the flames grow brighter until it was all lit up. “I don’t like it, but I’ll make sure you can see where you are going.” She lost track of how long they had been searching and at the moment, it rather felt like they had been walking in circles with everything looking the same. “Just be careful, would hate to tell the Chief he has to pick a new lieutenant.”

Krem gave her a cocky smile, even though he didn’t quite feel that confident, as Skinner handed him a rope. He took it and slipped it through his harness, looking up at the ceiling. He could practically hear the Chief’s voice growling at him to be careful, to not make a stupid move and end up splattered on the floor. He bounced on his toes a couple times and jumped up to grab one of the crannies of the ceiling, his feet dangling freely. “Maker’s balls,” he breathed and reached out for the next one. He reached into his belt and withdrew a hook, working it securely into the cracks of the rock, and hooked the rope through it. His shoulders already ached, but he had to make the way across for Dalish and Skinner so they could continue on. “Chief owes us some serious drinks when this is over,” he called back to them, trying to ease their tension as he worked another hook into the ceiling.

“Could use a drink now,” Skinner commented dryly as she braced herself, holding the end of the rope. “That mage and that boy better still be alive.”

“Ah, Dorian’s a good man,” Krem answered as he continued on, a sweat breaking out on his forehead as he worked to get across. “He wouldn’t let anything happen to Cassandra’s boy. He loves the little shit too much. And I say that in the most endearing way possible.” He kept his tone conversational, trying not to show his nervousness. That was a huge drop beneath him, one that would prove fatal should he slip. His fingers were already sore from holding onto the sharp rock; it took every bit of strength he had to pull another hook from his belt and wedge it up between the cracks of rock. “Halfway there,” he growled out.

Dalish kept her staff elevated, “Just let me know if you need more light.” She couldn’t help but think of why they were there. Of course, to rescue the two, but why? A dragon had been missed. “How did we miss that dragon? We’ve been all over these mines the past four years. Course, those dragons we are sent to handle aren’t exactly hiding.”

“I have been wondering the same thing,” Skinner admitted, a frown on her lips. “There was no way we missed that passage before. All of this time and now we are discovering these new passages? It doesn’t make any sense.”

Krem could no longer keep up the conversation, concentrating instead on the task at hand. One more… just one more… He managed to get the last hook in place, then stretched his leg out, his boot catching on the lip of the other landing. “Thank the Maker,” he breathed as he finally got secure footing beneath him again. He collapsed back, resting his forearms on bent knees as he caught his breath for a moment. “Okay, toss me the other rope and tie it off, then get over here.” He caught the end of the second rope when Skinner threw it across the chasm, and he tied it securely to a rock formation. “Come on, Dalish, you first,” he called out. “Just hook your harness on the line and slide yourself across. You got this.”

She chuckled as she fastened her staff to her back. “Of course I do. You’ve done all the hard work,” she teased, “Besides, aren’t we elves supposed to be great at climbing and all that? Granted, I have more expertise with trees.” She went on as she hooked herself up and easily crossed the chasm, resting next to Krem. She laughed at the look on his face as she unhooked herself and moved out of the way. “Yes, yes, I’ll get the next one. You just do it so much better than I could.”

She stood behind Krem, the dark passageway behind her as she watched as Skinner hooked herself up to the line, when she heard something skittering behind her and she turned her head, listening. It had been faint, maybe some poor nug that had fallen through somewhere else. “I hope we find them soon, this place is starting to freak me out.”

Krem reached out to grab Skinner’s hand and pulled her to stand next to him. “Bloody damn right you’ll do the next one. You’re half my weight, you could’ve practically danced across there,” he muttered. He mentally scolded himself for always assuming the harder tasks; he’d spent far too much time with Bull. 

The line that the elves had skimmed across would have to stay, but the rope through the hooks in the ceiling could still be retrieved. He picked up the end of it and began to feed it through, but jumped when he felt tension on the other end. He tipped his head curiously, trying to peer through the dark back towards the other side. “I think it’s caught,” he commented, giving it another tug. 

His blood ran cold when an answering tug nearly yanked the rope from his hands.

“The fuck?” he gasped and pulled again, leaning slightly back. He let go with a cry as the rope was pulled from his hands. He watched in terror as the rope zipped through the hooks, flying back the way it had come. Something was pulling the rope back to the other side!

“Get out of here!” he cried and turned to push Dalish and Skinner farther into the passage, “There’s something behind us!”

Dalish felt a jolt of fear spike in her, she had never heard Krem sound that way before. “Why don’t we just kill it!?” she asked as she hurried forward, looking over her shoulder at her companions before she turned around and screamed, dropping her staff. Pitch blackness surrounded them and she cursed as she dropped down groping for her weapon. The sharp teeth she had seen in her way all she could think of, “Come on, come on blasted!” But she didn’t get a chance to find it and she let out another shriek as something grabbed her leg and pulled and then, darkness.

“DALISH!” Krem shouted, hearing her struggle for just a moment, then silence surrounded him and Skinner. “Fuck! FUCK!” He blinked several times, trying to get his eyes to adjust to the darkness. “Dalish! Answer me!”

Skinner grabbed Krem’s arm to steady herself; she’d twisted her ankle trying to run through the passage to get away from whatever it was on the other side. But now it seemed that there was something on this side too. “Where is she?”

“I don’t know, I don’t know,” Krem answered frantically. “We have to find her, we have to - ARGH!”

Skinner screamed as Krem was yanked away from her. She tried to grab his hand, but he was gone. She could hear scuffling in the darkness and then just as before, everything went silent and she was left there, alone.


	7. Chapter 7

There was something about the upward slope of the cavern that made Cassandra feel better, like she was just that much closer to home. To the surface. It was so disorienting underground, unable to tell what time of day or night it was because everything was dark. She couldn’t fathom how anyone spent their entire life underground. The longer she stayed there, the more unnerving it became.

Every so often she or one of the men with her would call out for Anthony or Dorian, only now to be met with nothing but silence. No more strange noises in the dark, no false laughter or baby’s cries. Just endless and endless darkness and silence. It seemed to go on for hours, though it truly was impossible to tell.

That was why she jumped so violently when she heard it. A deep, ringing noise that sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard, though it was far louder. It set her teeth on edge, her muscles cringing as chills ran over them, and she clapped her hands over her ears. “What is that?!”

Bull winced as the sound echoed around the room and pulled his axe from his shoulder, ready to strike at anything that moved. He had never heard such a sound before. It seemed to reverberate around the cavern, down his horns and straight into his brain. “I don’t know, but I’m going to make it stop!” he threatened, even though he couldn’t see past what the torch illuminated.

Cassandra carefully lowered her hands as the sound stopped. A trickle of dust and pebbles fell from the ceiling to her shoulder. Slowly, her spine stiff as a poker, she looked up at the high ceiling. A shadowy figure clung to the ceiling directly above her! 

The scream froze in her throat and all she could do was slap at Varric’s arm, but the figure seemed to vanish into the darkness. 

Varric had his crossbow cocked and ready, aiming at the ceiling as soon as Cassandra slapped his arm, but he couldn’t see anything. He growled, “Okay, that time we all agree, right? We definitely saw that, right? The hell kind of animal crawls on the ceiling like that! That was no deepstalker!”

Cassandra nodded numbly, glad she wasn’t the only one who saw it that time. “I don’t know what it could have been,” she breathed and drew her sword, ready in case whatever it was came back. “I could barely see it, but it… it almost looked human.” She barely dared to believe what she’d seen, and for a moment she wondered if her mind was playing tricks on her again.

“Never seen a human do that before,” Rocky grumbled before he looked around again, trying to see any place it could have come through, “I would have almost thought it was a dragonling, but I’ve never seen one like that.”

“Me either,” Bull said in a low voice, giving a noise of frustration. “Why does it have to hide in the dark? They should just attack us and get it over with!” he called out, the loud noise echoing around the cavern.

Sinister laughter suddenly filled the cavern, seeming to come at them from all sides. Such a deep, demonic sound Cassandra had never heard in her life. It stole her breath, made her knees weak as it rolled over them, absolutely filling the space around them with sheer terror. 

She found her voice, laced with anger and fear, “SHOW YOURSELF!” 

Varric clicked a bolt into place as he put his back to Cassandra’s. “Okay, really? All in favor of not taunting the disembodied voice that could be a man or could be a dragon?” he muttered before he blinked and looked around their little group, back to back and he had to suppress a groan, “Is this starting to feel like a trap to anyone else?”

“I’d rather it show itself so we can kill it and be done with it,” she growled, straining her eyes to see where it had gone. The dancing light from Rocky’s torch cast strange moving shadows on the walls and it was impossible to tell what was real and what was a trick of the light. “We must keep moving. Get away from whatever that thing is if it will not face us. I think you are right; it is trying to trick us.”

Bull growled, “Not sure if we can get away from it, Cass. They seem to know the ins and outs of this place down to an art form. Those small passageways we came through? Might be perfect for a small dragonling. Or whatever the hell that is. They can see us without the aid of torches, too. Going to be hard to ditch them. Best to keep moving forward and hope we hit daylight. Any creature that can see in the dark is shit out of luck in the light.”

Fear for her son gripped her heart tighter than ever as they continued on through the cavern. She didn’t want to think about what might’ve happened to Anthony and Dorian if they’d run into this creature. Or creatures. Maker, how many of them might be down in this place? She shuddered and gripped her sword tighter. “The sooner we are away from this place, the better.”

Bull stopped short. “Hold a moment,” he said, sniffing at the air. His eye narrowed. “Do you all smell that?” His nose wrinkled in disgust and he walked over to the side. He could smell something different in the air. Not the fresh breeze they had been hoping for or the stale air they were used to. Something metallic. Something he knew well. Fear lanced through his heart as Dorian and Anthony flashed through his mind and he stepped towards the smell.

Cassandra tipped her head slightly as she watched Bull and followed slowly along behind him. “What is it?” she asked, unable to smell anything different. She froze in place as she stepped beside Bull and stared at the wall he was looking at. A strangled cry escaped her. There was more of the strange writing on the wall, only this time it was written in blood. Fresh blood. “The hell is this?” she snarled. She rounded on Rocky, “What in the Maker’s name are we dealing with down here?!”

Rocky frowned, a strange look on his face as he reached out to the wall to touch his fingers to the red substance. He brought it to his nose and winced at the coppery tang of blood met his senses. “Blood. Shit, you don’t think this is some kind of blood magic, do you?”

Bull stepped closer to the wall, looking at the strange writing. It was still wet, fat droplets of excess were still making their way down the wall as if they had been painted not minutes ago. “Hey Varric, does any of this weird crap match what you saw in that tunnel we came down?”

The dwarf pressed his lips thin as he slipped Bianca over his shoulder and he reached for his notepad. “Maker, I hope not. Because then we won’t just be dealing with a missing person’s case, but something else entirely.” He breathed as he opened up the book to the most recent page and compared the markings, feeling his blood run cold as he did. For some of the symbols, it was a perfect match. “Well, shit.”

“No,” Cassandra whined, her voice far more pitiful sounding than she would ever admit to later. She didn’t want to think it could be possible, but all she could think in that moment was that she’d lost her son. The writing was large, it covered a good part of the wall. Surely anyone who had been bled that much could not have survived. She bowed her head, tears stinging her eyes. “Maker, please.  Please.  Not my son. Not my baby boy,” she prayed in a choked whisper.

“Cassandra!” A muffled voice came from somewhere beyond, “Cassandra! Is that you?!” 

Her head whipped around, her breathing ragged. Did she dare? “Dorian?” she called back, taking a step in the direction of his voice. “Is that truly you? If it is, prove it!” She wasn’t about to be fooled by the voices again.

Bull’s ears perked up as he heard Dorian’s voice. “Kadan?” he asked, not willing to believe it himself as he stepped up next to Cassandra.

“You would be that paranoid, though these caves are freaky enough. I can’t blame you I suppose. There is a hole in the wall, I can’t tell where you are, but stand clear,” his voice called out to them before a fireball shot through, followed by a voice after it sizzled out, “Tell Varric he owes me five royals for farting fire.” 

“Sparkler!” Varric cried and rushed forward with his wife, kneeling down on the ground to the hole in the wall. It was short enough and the fact that Dorian had a palm full of fire on his end, he could see clearly. Especially the little boy with his head flush against the Tevinter mage’s cheek. “ANTHONY!” 

“Daddy!” Anthony grinned brightly. “Mommy!” 

Cassandra gave a happy sob as she peered through the hole at the base of the wall. “Stay right there, I’m coming to get you.” She laid flat on her chest and stretched one arm through the hole, twisting her shoulders as she attempted to crawl through. “No,” she gasped and strained harder. “I… I can’t fit!” She pulled back, desperate to get her son in her arms again.

Bull placed his hand against the wall, leaning over them, relief crashing through him to hear Dorian’s voice on the other side. Now that they knew they were alive and safe, and so very close, it was just a matter of getting through to them. “Can anyone fit through it?”

“So impatient you are, my dear,” Dorian said, “Hold on a moment, I have someone who can fit.” He looked down at Anthony and smiled, ruffling his hair. “Don’t you worry about me. You go on through and then we will figure out what to do with me,” he said.

Anthony threw his arms around Dorian's neck and hugged him tightly before he crawled out of his arms and into the tunnel.

 Dorian watched the boy wiggled into the passage. He took a deep breath, not wanting to alarm the party on the other side. It hadn’t been an easy trip to get where they were. Strange noises and scratching following them through the darkness. He shivered and dropped to his chest, “Amatus?” he called out as he watched Anthony crawl away from him. He hoped the fear wasn’t evident in his voice.

Cassandra grabbed up Anthony the second he crawled through the hole, hugging him tightly and kissing every inch of his dirty little face. Over and over, she whispered thanks to the Maker for having her son in her arms again and she laughed when Varric wrapped his arms around both of them.

Bull moved to lay next to the hole, peering through to Dorian. “Kadan,” he said, reaching an arm through the hole towards him. He knew Dorian was trying to hide it, but he could hear the fear in his voice, could see it in his expression in the light from Dorian’s staff. “We will get you out,” he promised in a low voice. 

Dorian reached through, sighing out as their hands met. He quickly threaded his fingers with that of the Qunari, brushing his thumb over his knuckles. “I know you will,” he said, trying to will his voice not to break. He had searched around the cavern he and Anthony were in. There was a hole that dropped straight down, but there was no way he could survive a drop like that. “Best get that demolition expert of yours and have him blow a hole through this blasted mine.” His eyes locked with Bull’s one good eye and he said, with a deep sincerity, “I just want to go home,” his voice cracking on the last syllable.

“I know,” Bull said. “Rocky is with us. Don’t you worry, he’ll have you out of there in no time.” He managed a smile as he curled his fingers around Dorian’s, just happy to hold his hand for a moment after so much fear and uncertainty. For the first time in his life, he cursed his size and his horns. He would’ve given anything to be able to get through to get to his lover. “I’m not leaving here without you.”

Dorian let his lips curl up in a smile. “I know you won’t. I ca-ARGH!!!” he cried as he was suddenly ripped away, something heavy colliding with the back of his head and he knew nothing but darkness, his staff falling from his hands.

“Dorian?” Bull cried as he heard the mage scream and his hand was pulled away. “DORIAN!” Fear like he’d never known before filled his chest and he desperately tried to reach through the hole, but there was now nothing on the other side. With a roar he got to his feet and drew his axe, slamming it against the stone, sparks and chips of rock spraying. 

Cassandra’s head whipped up to look at the panicked Qunari. “Bull! What happened?”

“Something took Dorian!” he roared. He stepped back, his chest heaving with his breath, and he looked at Rocky. “Blow it up. Blow that fucking shit up so I can get in there and save him!”

Varric turned, his eyes wide. The joy of having his son back was quickly replaced with the idea that a reckless explosion could take away everything again. The whole mountain falling down on his family. “I agree we need to get to Dorian as quickly as possible, but what good are we to him if we drop a whole mine on top of our heads trying to get to him!”

Rocky snorted, already digging into his pack and pulling out sticks of dynamite and several clear jars of black powder. “Yeah, not like I haven’t been doing my own calculations since we found them. The hole Anthony came through is perfect. The shape will direct the blast downward and not anywhere near any of us. Shouldn’t mess with the structural integrity of the caves as well. It’s long enough that Dorian and the Chief can hold hands, so I know I don’t have to use very much explosive powder to blast a hole big enough for all of us to get through.”

“Are you certain you know what you’re doing?” Cassandra asked in a harsh tone as she got to her feet, cradling Anthony to her chest. “There has to be another way to get through to them. If this ceiling caves in, we are all dead!”

“And if we don’t, then Dorian is dead!” Bull shot back at her. He was not in the mood to argue. Every second they wasted, Dorian was being dragged farther and farther away from them. He stood between her and Rocky, letting the dwarf work, and crossed his arms over his chest. “Varric, get your family back. We’re going through this wall one way or another.”

It wasn’t good either way, Varric decided, but Bull had a point. Every second counted for Dorian right now and he had just risked his own life to save his son’s. He reached an arm around Cassandra’s waist, “Come on, let’s move back behind the curve of the wall there. We’ll both protect the kid. Sparkler brought him back to us, now we need to do what we can for him. You said you saw those monsters. We can’t let him become another victim, there might be still time to save him.”

Cassandra nodded. She was not about to leave her best friend behind. She quickly walked down the corridor a bit and turned her back to where the blast would be, then dropped to her knees, holding Anthony tightly. She covered his ears with her hands as she bent over him, shielding him as best as she could. 

Bull snorted and gave a nod of approval, then looked over his shoulder at Rocky. “Blow that shit up,” he ordered darkly, then stalked forward to put another barrier between the blast and his friends. “I’m done being fucked with down here.”

Rocky nodded. “You got it Chief,” he said as he placed the dynamite inside of the tunnel, rolling out a bit of fuse. He looked back to make sure everyone was in place before he turned back to his handiwork and lit a match, touching it to the end of the fuse. When it lit, he ran for cover with the rest of them.

Varric knelt next to Cassandra, pressing against her tightly with his son, running a hand over his head, smiling at him while he prayed to the Maker that they would survive whatever would come next. Though, he wouldn’t admit that to Cassandra. They just needed to find Dorian and go home.

The explosion was ear-shattering, the ground trembling beneath them. Rocks flew in every direction, showering them in a spray of rubble and Cassandra was grateful she still had her shield strapped to her back. She had to blink several times to clear her vision, her ears ringing painfully. She dared to look over her shoulder and heaved a gasp of relief to see that Rocky had been right. The blast had gone straight down and cleared out a passage that was more than enough to fit through.

“Wow!” Anthony gasped, crawling up to peer over his mother’s shoulder. “That make BIG boom!” he cried, throwing his little hands in the air. 

Varric rubbed at his ears as he stood up, daring to glance over at the new way through. “Yeah, Cassandra, don’t let the kid play with any explosives. I have a fear that the Hanged Man will be nothing but a pile of rubble if we let him do that,” he said after hearing his son’s amazed cry. He knew that tone of voice. It was trouble. He looked to Rocky, “Good work. Now we just need to find Dorian and find a way back to the surface.” He wasn’t about to leave his wife and son, but he didn’t want to leave Bull and Rocky alone to find Dorian. “So, any great ideas for our next course of action?”

“Yeah,” Bull growled, shouldering his axe. “We find the fuckers that took Dorian and we kill every last one of them.”


	8. Chapter 8

Bull saw nothing but red as he led the way, fear for himself replaced with sheer anger. And fear for Dorian. His axe in his hands, he strapped Dorian’s staff to his back, determined to give it back once they rescued him. So close. They had been so close. He could still feel Dorian’s hand in his own, the way the mage’s fingers clenched around his hand as he was suddenly pulled away. 

Bull didn’t know exactly what they were dealing with, but there were somethings he did know. Whatever it was, it was strong. It was fast. It used magic. And it was intelligent. Listing off these traits in his head did nothing to calm Bull’s fear. If anything, it made it worse. But that was good, he reasoned. Fear kept you alive. Fear kept you alert. 

Varric held Bianca, ready to fire at a moment’s notice. He was going to owe Sparkler big after they got him back. He glanced to his son in Cassandra’s arms, the little boy had his arms thrown around her neck, his face buried against her shoulder. He didn’t understand what had happened to Dorian, but had told them about the claw marks on the wall that they had found and of weird noises that had been following them through the mines. They were all being stalked down here. It made him nervous as it was obvious that the entity could have killed them by now without even trying, but it didn’t. The main question: Why?

“Shhhh,” Cassandra soothed as Anthony whimpered into her neck. He’d expected Dorian to be on the other side once they blasted their way through and was now thoroughly distraught when he realized his uncle was missing. And though she wouldn’t say it to her son, she was frightened, too. She didn’t know what she would do if she lost Dorian now. And even more frightening, what Bull would do if he lost Dorian. While the Qunari may not have always been terribly open about his feelings, they all knew how deeply he cared for Dorian. She squeezed her eyes shut at the thought of losing her best friend and sent up yet another prayer that the Maker would keep him safe until they got to him.

Bull paused in his steps as the skittering, rock-sliding sounds met his ears again. A vengeful smile pulled at his lips and he tightened his grip on his axe. “Come on you son of a bitch,” he growled low and dangerous in his throat. He tensed his muscles, ready to strike at the first sign of movement. He didn’t care what they were up against, he was so furious and frightened over Dorian that he would’ve taken on an entire horde of dragons without a second thought. “COME ON!” he challenged. “You’re so big and bad slinking around in the shadows! Let’s see what you do when your prey fights back!”

Varric grit his teeth, raising his crossbow, covering the area that Bull wasn’t shouting at. He didn’t know what he was feeling at the moment. He was beyond relieved to have their son back, but on the other hand Sparkler was in danger. Quite possibly the other Chargers as well. They all knew how to take care of themselves, sure, but this? This was some fucked up shit. That and he knew how much Dorian meant to not only Bull, but Cassandra as well. Hell, one time he had even caught them in their bed at the Hanged Man. Dorian laying quite comfortably in the middle of the bed with Cassandra curled up asleep on her side as he read a book. Okay, so that wasn’t the worst situation a husband could come home to. He found it rather endearing, really. A friendship that strong? It reminded him of Hawke. “Come on, you bastards,” he hissed as he looked around, listening carefully. 

Cassandra drew her sword, her other arm still holding Anthony tightly to her. She really didn’t want to fight whatever it was while she had her son in her arms, but she would be damned if they took him from her now. She shivered as she felt eyes upon her. It felt as if they were being hunted. A whooshing sound met her ears and she barely had time to turn as something swooped from the ceiling and knocked into her. She cried out as she hit the floor, rolling to keep Anthony from getting hurt. She felt her sword drag over something as a loud screech met her ears.

Bull turned and for a split second froze as his vision drank in the sight before him. The creature on the ground was like nothing he’d ever seen before. Its shape was mostly human, save for the huge wings protruding from its back. And its face was beastly, an overly large mouth full of sharp teeth as it hissed at him. It rose to its feet, standing eye-to-eye with Bull. A long, fresh tear in its wing dripped blood. 

With a roar, Bull swung his axe as the creature jumped back, narrowly missing the edge of the blade. He swung again, this time landing a good blow to its shoulder, making the monster scream again. Maker, that was an ear-splitting sound, but some part of Bull enjoyed it, knowing he brought such pain to the thing that had stolen Dorian away from him.

Varric took advantage of the creature distracted by the pain of Bull’s hit and he fired off several bolts in succession, the satisfying sound of the bolts thunking into flesh met his ears before he quickly aimed a bolt for the creature’s head, watching with grim delight as it sank with a burst of blood into an eyeball. With some hesitation, he walked over to stand next to Bull as they looked down at it and he fired one more bolt into it for good measure. “Well that’s disgusting. Maker’s breath, what the hell is that?” 

Cassandra got up, holding Anthony tighter as he wailed. “Shhh,” she hushed. “Is it dead?”

Bull nodded and looked down at the creature. He crouched down for a better look, reaching out to grab a horn so he could turn its head to look at it. “I’ve never seen something like this before. It looks… part dragon,” he said, his features crossed with concern. He had to swallow hard against the smell that met his nose and stood up again, wiping the slime from his fingers. “Is this what you saw before, Cass?”

She carefully ventured closer, peering at it. “All I really remember was the teeth,” she said and frowned as she stared at it. “But that looks similar to what I saw. Maker, how many of them are down here? You know it cannot be the only one of its kind. What are they? And how did they get here?”

“This shit isn’t natural,” Varric said as he looked it over, “Half human, half dragon, sounds like something I’d make up for one of my books. I’d rather have Dorian’s opinion on this matter. Don’t some mages have the ability to shapeshift? Maybe there’s a cult or something down here that tried to turn into a dragon.”

“Flemeth could take the form of a dragon, could she not? And Morrigan as well,” Cassandra said. “I would assume there are others that have the same capability. So what is this? Someone who tried to transform and was unable to complete the process? Is is possible to get stuck mid-transformation?”

Anthony wiggled around in his mother’s arms to look down at the monster. “Ewww! It all slimey, Mommy!” he cried. He blinked a couple times, then wiggled more, trying to get down before he looked at his father. “Can I touch it?”

Varric had been about to reply to his wife, but his son’s unexpected question caught him off guard and he automatically replied, “No! Maker’s breath, Anthony. Are we even looking at the same thing or is there some nug I was previously unaware of?” He looked up at Cassandra, “He gets that from you, you know.”

She glared at her husband. “Ugh,” she groaned and rearranged Anthony on her hip, even as he leaned far over to look at it better. She frowned at it, the smell of the creature making her nose burn. “Whatever it is, at least we know now what is following us.”

“Yeah, cause that makes it fucking better,” Bull growled. He looked ahead, his only thoughts of Dorian again. “Come on. These things have Dorian and he has no weapon. We have to get to him.”

* * *

 

Dorian awoke with a groan, his head throbbing like after a night of drinking whatever Bull liked to have after killing a dragon. His body was stiff and there was a pressure around his neck that had him opening his eyes with a gasp. He wished he hadn’t. The area was bathed  in a red glow from lyrium scattered around a large cavern. He tried moving, but the sound of shackles clacking together, the heavy weight around his wrists told him that was out of the option. 

He looked around him the best he could. It felt like, whatever he was shackled to, his neck was as well. He could see several posts scattered around in, what he was going to call a cage made of stalagmites. What made him gasp was the fact that there were other people tied to them, presumably just like he was. “Krem?” he croaked out, but the man was out cold still. Dalish was there, as well as some poor fellow in mining gear. He was awake, something dripping down his chin. “You there, where are we? What’s happening?” He clenched his hands into fists. This reeked of a blood ritual.

“No no no no, please... make it stop. Make the singing stop! Don’t make me drink any more. Please, Maker have mercy, don’t let him force me to drink. I don’t want it. I don’t.” 

Dorian would have drawn back if he could, the man had a lost look in his eyes and he just kept muttering those words over and over again, pleading. 

“Where are we?” Krem asked groggily as he came to, blinking his eyes slowly against the eerie red light. He tried to move and was suddenly very much awake when he realized he was restrained. “The hell is this?” he breathed, struggling to free himself. His anger grew when all his efforts did was to create a bunch of noise that made his head throb. “Hey!” he called out, “Let me go!” He paused when he saw Dorian in the same predicament he himself was in. “Dorian? How long have you been here? Where’s Anthony?”

“I’m not certain, just woke up myself. Passed Anthony on through a small hole in the wall of a cave, Bull… Cassandra and Varric were on the other side. They were just about to have Rocky blow a hole through the wall when I was... knocked out. And here I am. Most likely the work of whatever had been following the boy and myself. Skittering noises and all that mess. I am so ready to go home now.” He nodded towards the miner, “Seems as though he has been here for a while.”

Krem reluctantly looked over at the muttering man. A violent shudder raced down his spine and he quickly looked away again. He licked his lips, trying to see a way out of this mess before they ended up like that poor bastard. “Something was following us. I never got a look at it, but it took Dalish,” he gasped and looked around, then breathed a small sigh as he saw her there as well, though she was still unconscious. “Did you see what it is, what’s living down here?”

Dorian shook his head. “Had my head stuck in a hole when it grabbed me, I’m afraid. For all the good that it would do us now.” He wiggled his fingers, trying to summon magic to them, anything they could use, but he bit back a groan as he felt a mugginess, a haze almost. “And whom ever it was who put us here, dosed me with magebane, it would seem.”

“Greaaaaat,” Krem drawled and deflated a bit. No, he would not give up so easily. “There has to be a way out of here. Skinner’s out there by herself now. And I’m not going to let anything happen to you or Dalish. The Chief would kill me,” he stated, sounding more confident than he felt. He turned his head as much as he could to look at the shackles on his wrists. “This fucker isn’t playing around, is he?” he muttered as he twisted his wrist back and forth, trying to work free.

“No,” A voice hissed right by Dorian’s ear and he started with a shout as some...creature walked into his view, carrying what looked to be an animal skull in its...hands? Claws? Grotesque and horrifying were words that came to Dorian’s mind, “Fasta vaas!” His eyes widened in horror as the half man, half dragon thing stepped towards the miner who was now sobbing openly, jerking in his chains as he tried to get away from the thing.

“One does not play around with the delicate balance of a precious spell,” the man spoke, almost with a lizard like hiss tone to his words. He went to the miner and a clawed hand shot out to the man’s jaw, pinching it so his mouth was forced open, his head banging against the post he was tethered to and the creature wasted no time in tipping the skull and its contents into the man’s mouth.

Dorian tried not to gag at the sight. Whatever was in that skull, it was thick and sluggish, glowing faintly red. There was a gurgled and he watched as the miner swallowed, his mouth hanging open as he shook his head side to side, tears streaming down his face as the creature pulled back. “What are you doing to him?!” 

The creature turned towards the new captives, tilting a slimy, horned head at them, clicking his tongue in disapproval. “The new ones always have too much spirit,” he muttered, seemingly to himself and he turned back to watch the miner. “This one will become one of my children tonight and we may start the process with you a few more hours after that. Unless you all would like to drink now and get it over with? No, perhaps not. Cannot rush perfection. Too soon and you would be useless to me.”

Dorian’s eyes dropped back to the miner and he squirmed in his bonds as he watched the man’s skin ripple, almost as if it were beginning to change or go through some sort of transformation. “I would sooner die than be subjected to this!” he spat, but fear was racing through his body, and he prayed that Bull would come bursting through at any moment and cleave the creature’s head from his body. 

Krem watched on in horror as the miner whined weakly, giving less than half-hearted attempts to pull away from his bonds. He couldn’t focus on that, though, because the man before him - was it a man? - was far too close for his liking and far too disturbing. It was a monstrous being, with huge leathery wings that nearly dragged the ground. Now that it was this close, he could see scales on its shoulders, how its hands looked more like claws than fingers. “The hell are you?” he breathed.

He turned his head to look at Krem, his eyes narrowing on him. “As far as you are concerned, I am your new master,” he said as he moved to leave, taking one last look at the new stock, “Do not worry. The rest will be joining you soon, but you may already be too far gone by the time they get here. Maybe not. You do still have a few hours more to enjoy your humanity.”

The words stuck in Dorian’s mind, master, humanity. He shook his head, trying to fight off the wave of fear. “Could you be any more obscure!?” Though he had an inkling of what this monster was planning to do to them. 

The creature stopped in front of Dorian, cold eyes resting on him, not caring for the human’s tone of voice. “I am going to break you. Strip your minds bare, drive you mad until you beg me to stop and then I will make you mine,” he hissed. “Pay close attention to him,” He pointed a claw over at the miner, “He is your future.” And he left without another word.

Krem met Dorian’s eyes. “We gotta get outta here,” he breathed before he grit his teeth and pulled, trying to slip his hand out of the heavy cuff around his wrist. “Damn it,” he growled, feeling as though his hand might disconnect from his arm if he pulled any harder. “Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he hissed. A sudden thought struck him and he kicked out at Dalish, trying to reach her. “Dalish! Wake up!” She was skinny enough, perhaps she could slip out of the bonds and free the rest of them. “Dalish!” He swallowed harshly when she didn’t answer. If she was dead… 

He put the thought out of his mind. No, she would be fine. She was just unconscious. Had to be. He looked over at Dorian again. “Don’t suppose you have any ideas?”

“Most of them involve magic. Perhaps one or two that have us screaming for help until we’re hoarse, but I wouldn’t want to test our host’s patience with us. He looks like he rests on a hair trigger as is.” He tugged at his bonds, wincing as the chain around his neck dug into his skin and cut off his air as he strained to pull free. “Had to be a smart, crazy monster. Couldn’t be the foolish one who would bother with rope to tie us up.” He let his head thunk back against the pole. “Let us hope that the others make it to us in time. I know they won’t leave us.”

Krem nodded in agreement. “You know the Chief is gonna do everything he can to get to you. With no concern for himself, no doubt,” he added as an aside. “Big arse is probably trying to bash his way through solid rock walls to get to you.” There was almost a tone of admiration in his voice.

“Us,” Dorian corrected him, “That great lummox will do everything in his power to get to us.” He managed a weak smile at that, “Have to save this entire, strange family of ours and no one is going to be left behind.”

Krem was surprised to hear Dorian speak like that, to refer to him as part of their family. He’d often heard Bull and Dorian joke with Cassandra and Varric about it, but he’d never considered himself part of it. He rather liked the idea and he gave a nod to Dorian. “No one,” he agreed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter gets a bit gross. We advise not eating while you read.

Dorian wasn’t certain what was worse. The endless screaming of the miner or his own personal hell that he was being subjected to. The cuffs and bindings were digging into his skin and painfully so. He had pulled on his wrists until he felt blood running down his fingers and such an act left him exhausted. The also pressing need to use the restroom was becoming more and more of a torture than he had thought and the humiliation of wetting himself kept him from just letting go. He was at current, trying to implement one of Bull’s meditation techniques he had taught him to ignore pain or something of the sort, but it wasn’t working. The sharp cries of the miner, combined with horrible cracking of bones, tearing of skin, with his own issues, it was a futile effort. He could smell too. It smelled absolutely disgusting and it only confirmed his suspicions that their host would not let them up so they could go relieve themselves. “Shit,” he breathed, daring to look at Krem, the need in his bladder starting to drive him to insanity and he bit his lip. “I…” Embarrassment washed over him. What did one do in this sort of situation? Warn the others and draw attention to himself? Or just suffer in his quiet hell?

Krem wasn’t even paying attention to Dorian as he stared at the miner, trying to figure out what the hell was happening to the poor man. He was changing, that much was certain, but into what? Krem was reminded of the red Templars, the horrible monsters they would become. That seemed more than likely, considering they were surrounded by the stuff. He kept clenching his eyes shut, growling in frustration in an attempt to make the singing stop. “Maker damn it all,” he panted, shaking his head again as if to shoo away an irritating fly. 

Dorian started at the sudden cry the miner gave and he exchanged a look with Krem. “Maker, what are they doing to him?” He had to keep talking. Talking would distract him from their situation, his situation. “I thought Varric had gotten rid of all the red lyrium left in Kirkwall. How did this creature get a hold of it? It looks like whomever our host is has been working on his garden for some time.” Another cry from the miner drew his attention back to the man. His eyes widened as he saw and heard the crunch of bones and watched as the man’s limbs slowly elongated. “This doesn’t look like red lyrium poisoning to me.”

“Then what is it?” Krem breathed, watching in horror. Everything was wrong. The color of the man’s skin was changing, he could see the beginning of horns sprouting from the man’s forehead. An anguished cry issued from the miner as he opened his mouth and his teeth began to fall to the floor, leaving long trails of bloody saliva dripping from his lips. 

“Oh! Oh Maker, Dorian, I think I’m gonna be sick,” Krem choked out, not wanting to see any more yet unable to tear his eyes away as long fangs began to grow in place of the miner’s teeth. He breathed hard through his nose, but the ungodly smell of the place only made his nausea worse. He choked, tasting bile in the back of his mouth. 

Dorian flinched away as the fangs started to grow from the man’s mouth, the sudden twitch of movement and he gave an undignified whimper as he felt a liquid heat spreading from his crotch and he turned his head in shame, to his shoulder, his eyes clenching shut as his bladder emptied. “Fuck,” he whimpered, shifting uncomfortably in his soiled clothes. “Maker help us,” He breathed, daring to look over as the miner began to scream in pain as the horns became longer, cracking through his skull. This was their fate, the monster had said. Fear wrapped around his heart as he suddenly realized how suddenly everything he had could be ripped away. “Bull,” he whimpered, “Where are you?”

Krem panted through his nose, staring up at the glowing red ceiling, trying to go anywhere else in his mind. He clenched his jaw, shaking his head, slowly at first, then faster. “Nope. No good,” he croaked out before he turned his head as much as he could and vomited. He spat several times, the taste in his mouth disgusting. “That’s what I get for eating at the Hanged Man,” he groaned.

“I’m not sure if we can blame this on that foul stuff. At least it’s better than the things they called food at the Herald’s Rest,” Dorian said, trying to lighten the mood. His embarrassment was lessening as the relief overtook him. Though the current situation with the miner as he changed was more disturbing than he could have anticipated. “Shit! What did they do to him! He looks as if he is trying to turn into a dragonling!” 

“He’s making more like him,” Krem breathed in horror. “That’s what it is, isn’t it? Look at him! That bastard! That sick, fucked up bastard!” Terror crept up his spine and he finally met Dorian’s eyes, his own wide with fright. “Is that what he plans to do to us?” he asked in a shaking whisper. “I’d rather die.”

Dorian closed his eyes, trying to regain his center. He didn’t want to die. He didn’t. He hadn’t been lying to the Bull when he said he had plans. Plans that included waking up next to him every morning. Baby sitting their nephew and niece when she was old enough. Researching a way to help his homeland, though that had taken a backburner to his current situation. A family would do that to you and he wanted nothing more to be back at the Hanged Man with everyone. Anthony in his lap as they ate terrible food, surrounded by Bull, Cassandra, Varric, Krem and the rest of the Chargers. He wanted nothing else in the world. He would even give up his amulet again if he could just have that.

Krem shuddered at the sight, fear making his now empty stomach coil and he thought he might’ve gotten sick again if he hadn’t already. He leaned forward with all his strength, the chain around his neck pinching, choking, strangling. His eyes streamed and wrists burned as he tried to pull free from the pillar behind him. His knees gave out and a strangled choke escaped him as he regained his footing. “Dammit,” he breathed. 

His back went stiff as he heard footsteps and he whipped his head to look through the glowing red light; their “host” had returned and was dragging two people behind him.

“Grim! Stitches!” Krem cried, seeing their beaten and bloodied state. Their groans met his ears and he turned his eyes on the half-human dragging them into the room. “You son of a bitch! I’ll kill you! You hear me? I WILL KILL YOU!” 

He ignored them, muttering to himself, “They all say that in the beginning.” As he tossed Grim to the side and began securing Stitches to a post, the jangling of chains filled the air as he did so. 

Dorian felt sick as he watched the “host” secure the two to posts and went to the miner and lifted his jaw as if he were inspecting the quality of a horse’s teeth. He jerked against his holdings, feeling the bite of iron dig into his skin once more. He almost wished he practiced blood magic, but he refused to go down that road. A little more time and the magebane would wear off, he would be able to use magic again. Fear lanced through him when the half man turned towards him while he reached into his robes and withdrew a vial. “Stay away from me!” he shouted and kicked out with a leg, but the man was faster than he thought and suddenly his head was knocked against the post behind him, sending him into a daze. 

He choked as a clawed hand forced his mouth to open and the contents of the vial were tipped into his mouth. He wanted to gag at the flavor of the magebane as it hit his tongue and tried to spit it out, but the monster pinched his nose and forced his jaw shut. He had no choice but to swallow. The dulling effects were immediate and he sagged against his bonds as the creature let him go. “Damn you,” he spat out. 

Krem growled as Dorian nearly went limp in his bonds. He couldn’t see what he’d been forced to drink, but whatever it was was not good. It suddenly clicked in his mind that whatever Dorian had been given had probably also been given to Dalish, but she was so damn tiny that it affected her worse. He hoped that was the case anyway. 

His mind worked quickly, wondering if her could get some more information from this half-man if it would help him figure out how to get out of here. He gave a sharp whistle to draw the attention to himself. “So we’ve figured out you’re making more like you, yeah?” he said loudly. “What are you going to do if they turn on you?” His mind briefly flashed to one of Varric’s stories, how keeping the bad guy talking could buy you time. He hoped that would work now.

Dorian glanced up as the man turned towards Krem and a horrible sound that he realized was laughter filtered through the air before he spoke, “There have been a few. All were excellent meals for the most loyal of my brood.” He stalked forward to Krem and pushed his head back against the post. “Still so much spirit. I think it is time we worked on that.”

Krem felt as if he’d swallowed a block of ice. The smell from the creature alone was enough to make him want to get sick again and for a moment, he almost wished he could just to spit it in its face. His eyes narrowed slightly as a haughty smirk crossed his lips. “You think you’re gonna break  my spirit?” he almost laughed. “I’d like to see you try.” He quickly drew his knee up and kicked out at the creature, knocking it backwards away from him. “Though I suppose if you really want to break us, all you have to do is stand that close. Maker’s balls, it’s called soap, mate!”

The creature seethed as it landed on its backside on the ground and moved with a deadly grace as he stood back up and lifted a wrist to his mouth and bit down hard, dark blood welling up. He walked back over to Krem, dipping a finger into the dark substance and reached out to his forehead, painting a strange symbol upon the skin there. “I will enjoy watching you break,” he hissed before he moved around and headed for Dorian. 

The Tevinter mage felt a panic upon him and he tried to kick out, but he was easily evaded and that clawed hand was soon upon his own forehead. It made his skin crawl and he could feel the sticky blood as it was painted on. “Don’t touch me!” he cried but it was too late and he sagged back in his bonds as he watched the monster move around and started to apply the blood to the other captives that were still out cold. His eyes went wide a moment later as a figure moved out of the corner of his eye and horror moved through him. “Father? You’re part of this!?”  

He watched as the magister smiled evilly, and pulled a book from his robes, hissing out at him, “Time to start that blood ritual, Dorian. You will end this foolishness and become who you were always supposed to be.”

Krem blinked, looking around to see who Dorian was talking about. There was no one there, save for the other captives, their captor and… “Maker, no,” Krem gasped in horror as he saw his mother standing there, looking broken and furious. He hadn’t seen her in years. What was she doing there? “Mother?” he asked, blinking several times to clear his vision, but she remained firmly in his sight.

“This is all your fault!” she screamed at him. “If only you had married that merchant’s son, you could have saved your father from slavery! We asked one thing of you. One thing! And you couldn’t even do that. Why couldn’t you just be a nice, normal girl?!”

Krem felt his face burn hotly and guilt curled around his heart. “I’m sorry, Mother,” he murmured as he squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away from her, even as she continued to scream and curse his name, his very existence.

The creature felt his lips curl up in a sinister smirk as he watched Krem. “We will see how long that iron will of yours holds. Then when you beg to me for it to end, you will become mine.”

Krem forced his eyes open and glared at him. “Keep trying,” he spat through clenched teeth. “You seriously underestimate us.” He could see Stitches and Grim as if they were lost in their own worlds, seeing things they alone could see. He could still see his own mother, could still hear her berating him for betraying the family because he refused to live a lie. And he realized then what was happening. She was part of his imagination. It still hurt to hear it, to relive those moments, but it wasn’t real. “Horns up!” he called out to his fellow Chargers. He looked across to the mage, meeting his eyes with an intense look. “Dorian,” he said, “horns up.”

Dorian tore his gaze away from his father who was spouting some nonsense. Saying how he was going to drag Bull down there and after the ritual was complete, they would kill him together. Krem’s voice cut through everything like a sword and he focused on the other Tevinter, managing a weak smile. He never had been so happy to hear those two little words. He closed his eyes, trying to focus. “Horns up.”


	10. Chapter 10

Whatever horrors Dorian was seeing, it seemed as though Grim’s nightmares were worse. The usually quiet man had started screaming and writhing in his bonds, tears streaking down his face. “Grim. GRIM,” Dorian pleaded, “It’s not real. Whatever you are seeing, it’s not real!” It was what he had been telling himself over and over in his own head when Bull finally did show up, only to have his neck sliced wide open by his father’s knife. “Krem, can you talk any sense into him?”

Krem was still trying to drown out the sound of his mother screaming at him. It was so hard to focus on anyone else with that in his face. He and Dorian constantly kept assuring each other that it wasn’t real. Krem couldn’t see Dorian’s father, couldn’t see Bull lying there dead. And likewise, Dorian couldn’t see Krem’s mother. It seemed to be the only thing keeping them sane. But Grim wouldn’t say what he saw and so they could offer him little comfort. Still, they had to try.

“Grim, it’s in your head,” Krem said, trying to keep his voice even. “It’s that fucking blood-mage-monster that’s making you see shit. It isn’t real! You’ve got to calm down. You’re one of the Chargers. You’re stronger than this!” 

But Grim didn’t seem to hear him at all. His eyes were wide with terror, shaking his head violently, yelling incoherently over and over and over. He kicked and struggled, nearly strangling himself as he fought against whatever his eyes saw.

Krem squeezed his eyes shut. “Shit,” he hissed, then looked at Dorian and shook his head sadly. “I don’t know if he can even hear us now.” He cringed again as his mother screamed in his ear; she was so close he could feel her breath on his cheek. “Oh shut it, Mother,” he grumbled.

Footsteps distracted Dorian from his hell, his father disowning him and such nonsense that he shouldn’t care about, but did. He twisted his head, his eyes widening in fear as he saw their captor returning, that damned skull in his hand, “Get the fuck away from us!” He shouted as he struggled in his bonds, trying to draw himself up, but as usual, he was ignored and the creature walked over to Grim. Cold fear washed over him. “NO! Get away from him! Don’t you dare touch him! GRIM!”

The creature regarded the crying, screaming man in front of him. “Are you ready to escape your hell?” he muttered to the blond as he gripped the man’s jaw as he continued screaming. He barely needed to hold his mouth open as he tipped the skull over and made him drink the sluggish liquid inside. “This is just the beginning. You do not yet know agony, but you will. Thrice more you will drink before the process is complete,” he murmured as the skull was drained completely and he forced Grim to swallow. A smirk tugged at his twisted lips and he looked at the others, shaking his head, “Still not ready.”

Krem thought he would lose it, he was so angry. All he saw was red. “Just you wait! You are fucking with the wrong people! When we get free, it will be your end!” he shouted so loud he thought his throat might rip. He couldn’t bear the thought of any of the Chargers turning into one of those monsters. The Chargers were family to him. He pulled on his restraints again, feeling something popping in his wrists, pain shooting up his arms. “I’ll gnaw my own damn hands off just so I can kick your arse!”

The half man ignored Krem in favor of walking over to the miner, who had long since gone quiet. He reached behind the man... no... the creature and freed him, unlocking his bonds and letting him down. “Most excellent,” he said as he knelt next to his creation, “There are guests in these mines, go and join your brethren, bring them to me. I must have more.”

Dorian clenched his teeth tightly, unable to stop himself from shaking. His eyes kept darting between the monster and back to Grim. There was a trail of that black blood seeping out of his lips and he screamed in his frustration before looking back to the half man. The monster he had created snarled at him and darted, moving to climb up the walls and moved away. It was beyond deformed, beyond disgusting. And now Grim was going to be turned into one of them. If the others didn’t hurry, they would all be forced to drink, forced to become slaves for this abomination. “You sick twisted fucking lunatic!” 

Krem shuddered at the skittering sound made by the new creature. How many times had he heard that in the dark while looking for Anthony? He turned a hateful gaze upon their captor. “How many others?” he demanded. “How many other men and women have you tortured and changed into these monsters?!” A million questions swarmed his mind. Where had these people come from? Were their families still looking for them? Had he done the same thing to children? “HOW MANY?!”

The monster turned to Krem then, stalking over. His fangs gleaming in the red light. “More than I can remember. Armies take many, many people. And there will be more. People come looking for lost loves, children. Children are the best. So easily broken. So frightened. Soon, I will not need them to come to me. I will bring myself to them and change the entire world. And you will help me. You will learn to love it.”

“You targeted Anthony,” Krem gasped. “You saw a kid and you lured him down here on purpose so the rest of us would follow.” He pressed his lips to a hard line, shaking with anger. “What kind of sick bastard does such a thing?” He couldn’t imagine a child enduring what he and the others were going through now. It was heart-wrenching to even think about. “So what is that piss you’re forcing people to drink anyway?”

“The only way you will know is if you drink yourself. Would you like to try?” he asked with a knowing smirk, “It is rather addicting as is most life changing substance.” He grabbed Krem’s hair and forced his head back, “You could always ask your friend, but I would do it quickly. Soon, he will not be able to speak at all. The tongue is always the first thing to go.”

“Get your hands off of him!” Dorian hissed as he tugged at his bonds. It was obvious to him that nothing they said would shake this twisted man’s ideals. No sudden reform, no shock of what he had done. “We are not going to break and when they come for us, you are dead. Your army is dead.”

Krem stared hard into the creature’s red-rimmed eyes, a muscle ticking in his jaw. He would not give this bastard the satisfaction of yelling anymore. Refused to show any more weakness. He sniffed hard through his nose, then spat in its face. “You wait until my boss gets here. He will find us. And he will rip you to pieces.”

The man snarled and slammed Krem’s head back against the post. “Insolent worm. You will regret that.” He glared at them both before he calmly reached up to wipe the spit from his face, looking at it with interest for a moment before he said, “You both are not screaming enough. I will have to do something about that.”

Krem choked back a groan as pain blossomed through his skull. The edges of his vision darkened and he struggled to stay conscious. He grit his teeth and breathed heavily, narrowing his eyes. “I’m going to enjoy watching you die,” he growled out, but he winced again. His brain felt like it had exploded in pain and he felt blood trickle down the back of his neck. A mirthless laugh escaped him. “Oh the Chief is gonna have fun with you.”

Dorian felt sick as he watched the monster slam Krem’s head back. Fear was pulsing through him almost as much as the fury for him. The thought of Anthony being subjected to this... He shuddered at the thought. The sound of ripping fabric tore him from his thoughts and he looked up to see the creature had ripped a hole in the armor Krem was wearing to expose skin. With a sharp claw, it began to engrave a glyph into his skin and his eyes widened as he recognized it for a fire rune. “NO! Stop it!”

Krem tried to fight the scream in his throat, but was unable to. It felt as though his very skin was melting off. Oh Maker, death would be a relief at this point. He writhed and thrashed in his bonds, desperate to make the pain stop. He pulled at the restraints, trying to claw at himself. He would’ve torn his own hair out if he could’ve reached. “MAKE IT STOP!”

The half man pulled back as he finished, smirking wickedly at Krem’s distress. “Much better.” And he turned to stalk over to Dorian. “Do not fret, I have not forgotten about you,” he murmured and easily ripped Dorian’s robes open, carving the same glyph into his abdomen.

Dorian tried to twist away from the monster, but it was no use. He hissed at the pain of the claw digging into him, but it was nothing compared to the blistering heat that followed, searing into his mind, making him tense and clench his muscles, tearing a scream from his own throat.  

“Haven’t you done enough already?” Stitches gasped pitifully. He could barely see, he was so bruised, his eyes swelled up. “Leave them alone.” He wanted nothing more than to leave this wretched place, to try to forget this horrible nightmare. “Damn it, Bull, where are you?” he murmured to himself. He hoped the Chief hadn’t run into these things, that he was still out there fighting to get to them. Bull had never let them down before.

“It should wear off in a few hours. My magic isn’t as good as it used to be,” The half man murmured out, relishing in their screaming. “Then they should be ready as well. I must prepare more blood,” he said to himself and left.

Stitches whimpered and let his head droop, feeling as though his will to even try was all but gone. He’d never heard Krem scream like that before and something about it just seemed to break him. He squeezed his eyes shut against the tears, left alone there with Grim groaning and drooling blood, and the sounds of Dorian and Krem screaming in agony.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter contains character death.

Varric was getting really, really tired of those damn skittering monster trying to ambush them all. Cassandra and Bull’s weapons were dripping with their putrid blood and he could have sworn his crossbow was smoking from the many bolts he had fired. “You think they will ever get the hint to leave us the fuck alone?” he growled as they walked along, keeping his finger on Bianca’s trigger. 

Rocky huffed, “Not sure if thinking is high on their list of to-do’s here.” 

Anthony had lost all interest in the monsters and now clung to his mother, whining and whimpering into the side of her neck as she tried to hush him. “How many of them are down here?” she wondered aloud. “It is like they just keep coming from nowhere.” She was exhausted and sore all over. “We must find Dorian and get out of here,” she said, though she knew she’d said it a million times already.

Bull nodded his agreement. “We’re working on it, Cass,” he reminded her as he trudged forward. He paused, hearing movement in the darkness. It wasn’t the skittering they’d heard so many times. This was something different.  Step… drag… step… drag…  He tightened his grip on his axe, a growl issuing through his clenched teeth. “What now?”

“Chief?”

Bull lowered his axe, his eye wide as Skinner came into view, leaning hard on the wall, her left leg stuck out at an odd angle as she put all her weight on the other. “Skinner!” he gasped and hurried over to look her over. “What happened? Where’s Krem and Dalish?”

“Something took them,” she answered in her heavy accent. She leaned her shoulder against the stone wall, relief crashing through her to see him. “I tried to follow, but they got dragged off. I couldn’t keep up.” She winced slightly as he assessed her ankle. 

Bull felt anger creep up his spine. Now not only was Dorian missing, but also two of his men. “Sprained,” he said and stood up straight again, resting his axe on his shoulder. “Fucking bastards,” he snarled. “These things think they can fuck with us? Once we get everyone back, I’m gonna let Rocky blow this whole place sky high.”

Rocky snorted, “Yeah, sounds good to me, Chief. I’m going to just blast through the walls until we reach daylight again. Can’t believe I’d ever be happy to see the sun again. I think you might be onto something, Varric.”

“Amazing what will make you come around the other side,” Varric said, “Yeah, this is now officially the worst place in Thedas. I’m never going underground again for the rest of my life.” He looked to Skinner, “You said you were trying to follow them, you know what direction to go?”

She gave a nod and pointed. “Back the way I just came. I tried to get to them, but there’s a wall and I couldn’t climb it with my ankle the way it is,” she answered. “If we had not lost our gear, maybe I could have done it.” She hung her head, frustrated with herself and ashamed to admit defeat in front of Bull. “But I know it is the right way. I… I could hear screaming. There is someone there.”

Bull felt his blood turn to ice, but it only steeled his resolve to find the others. “Let’s move,” he growled and wrapped an arm around Skinner’s tiny frame to help her along. He didn’t want to think about what could be causing them to scream. He just wanted to kill the bastards that had done this and get out. 

Varric followed Bull along, keeping his crossbow raised and with each step they took, he heard what Skinner described. It was muffled, but maker, how loud were they screaming that they could hear them through the walls. And why hadn’t they stopped? “Shit,” he muttered; he couldn’t tell who it was. Anger coursed through his veins at the thought of their friends being tortured and his hands clenched tightly around Bianca.

Rocky moved up to Bull’s side. “I got her, Chief. You might need to swing your axe at one of those skitterers again,” he said as he let Skinner brace herself against him. “You just let me know when you want something blown up.”

“Oh, it’ll be soon. I promise you that,” Bull muttered darkly. This time as he moved ahead, he hoped the screaming he could hear was only in his head. Because he knew those voices. Dorian. Krem. Stitches. But he couldn’t hear anyone else and he worried about Grim and Dalish. 

How far had Skinner hobbled to get to him? Every time he asked, she nodded for him to go on, they were going in the right direction. And always, the screaming seemed to get loud. It made his blood boil. It set his teeth on edge. And he steeled himself for a fight to the death, whether it be the creature’s or his own.

They finally came to the wall Skinner indicated and he looked up, narrowing his eye. A very faint red glow from somewhere further in the upper passage let him see the top edge. It wasn’t a huge wall, maybe twenty feet or so, but he could see why Skinner wouldn’t have been able to climb it on her own. And even if she had managed it, she couldn’t have fought those things. 

He turned to look at her as she leaned on Rocky. “You did the right thing, Skinner, coming to find us,” he said before he slung his axe over his back. “Give me the rope, Rocky. I’m going first.”

Rocky could see the look in Bull’s eye, heard the tone that was not to be messed with and he helped Skinner prop up against the wall before he handed his boss the rope. The screams were unnerving and he hoped Bull gave the creature that caused their friends so much pain, the death he deserved. He could clearly hear Krem, Dorian’s voice just above that. It was hard to distinguish the two, as they were just screams. He dared to venture a look at Cassandra, knowing how close she was to Dorian.

Cassandra felt the blood drain from her face, now that they were so close to Dorian and the others. Over and over in her head, she just kept telling herself that at least they were alive. Whatever had been done to them, they could get through it if they could just rescue them. She cradled Anthony to her, trying to cover his ears so he wouldn’t hear his uncle like that. Maker, would she ever be able to erase that sound from her own memory? She wanted to call out to them, to let them know they were coming, but forced herself to keep her mouth shut. It would be better to surprise whoever was hurting them. It would give Bull the upper hand.

Bull slung the coil of rope over his arm and reached up to grab a handhold in the rock and began to climb. He drank in the sound of his lover and his lieutenant screaming; he would make whoever was hurting them scream twice as much. “You wait,” he growled under his breath, reaching up again. “I will take you apart piece by piece. And your dying thought will be that you fucked with the wrong people.”

Varric grimaced as the Bull climbed the wall as if it were a staircase. He closed his eyes as he drank in the sounds. The screams. He had never heard Dorian or Krem scream like that before. It was neverending, a torture they couldn’t escape. It made him sick to his stomach and he swore to himself then and there, that whoever had done this would pay for it with their lives. “Maker,” he breathed as he glanced to his wife who had her hands over their son’s ears. 

Bull was a little more than halfway up the wall when something happened that made his heart stop. The screaming stopped. He swallowed harshly and climbed faster, his fingers aching on the sharp edges of the rocks as he pulled himself up. “Don’t do this to me, Kadan,” he breathed, moving faster and faster. “Don’t you dare.” He gave a shout of surprise as the rock crumbled beneath his fingers and he slipped, barely managing to hang on with his other hand.

“Bull!” Cassandra gasped, her grip on Anthony tightening as she watched their friend dangle precariously by one hand. Oh Maker, Dorian would be heartbroken if something happened to Bull.

“I’m fine,” he growled out and drew a breath before he reached up with a roar and grabbed hold of a secure bit of rock. “Oh yeah. Get that adrenaline going. I’m gonna fucking kill something.”

Varric almost chuckled, but his fear of the situation diminished that will. He lifted his crossbow and fired a bolt into the next precarious handhold the Qunari would need. “Come on Tiny, no time to waste,” he said as his body started sweating profusely as the screaming stopped. It couldn’t be what he thought and he fired more bolts in succession within Bull’s grasp. “Get up there!” 

A vicious grin split Bull’s face as he quickly used the bolts to haul himself up. He uncoiled the rope and tied it off, tossing the other end over the edge. “Get up here as fast as you can. I’m going on ahead!” he said and turned to march down the red-lit passage on his own, before they could say a word of protest.

“Skinner, take Anthony,” Cassandra said and passed her son to the elf. “You and Rocky stay here. We will come back for you once we get Dorian and the others. Just keep him safe.” She waited for the elf to nod before she went to the rope and grabbed it, not even bothering to take the time to run it through her harness. It killed her to leave her son behind, but she wasn’t about to take him into a fight like this. 

“Mommy!” Anthony called out as his mother began to climb quickly up the wall. He looked to Varric, “Daddy, where Mommy going?!”

Varric gave a smile, the best he could, to his son as he ran a hand over his hair. “We’re going to get Uncle Dorian back. Stay with Skinner and do as she says. We will be back before you know it,” he promised as he leaned forward and kissed his son’s head. “We love you. Know that,” he said before he turned and grabbed a hold of the rope and began climbing up to his wife.

Bull held his axe ready, his heart thundering in his chest as he hurried down the passage as fast as he dared. Why couldn’t he hear Dorian anymore? Or Krem? And what about the rest of his men? He didn’t want to admit how frightened he was for all of them. Especially Dorian. 

The glow of the red lyrium grew brighter, and Bull rounded a corner, skidding to a stop. There they were, shackled to posts of stone. Krem’s head hung at an odd angle, Stitches had his face screwed up as if in pain, and Dorian… One of those creatures had him by the jaw, tilting his face up towards the ceiling, a dark, bloodied skull in its other hand. “KADAN!” he roared and ran forward, swinging his axe. The flat side of it hit the creature, knocking it away from the mage.

Dorian felt something lance through his chest, hope. He blinked his eyes, spitting out on the ground. He knew what the monster had intended to do and he had done his best to defy him until his last breath. “Amatus?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper as he gasped out, pulling at his restraints, tears cascading down his face.

“What have they done to you?” Bull growled. He glanced around at his men, horror sinking into his chest. “What have they done to all of you?” It was sickening, seeing how out of it his men were, how broken they seemed. He’d never seen them like that, not even after the bloodiest of battles. He looked to Dorian again. “I’m going to get you out of here. I swear it, Kadan. I’m - ARGH!” He roared as claws sank deep into the back of his shoulders and he was yanked away from Dorian, falling flat on his back.

“It seems my creations have failed me. Such a pity, I had such high hopes for them,” The half man, half dragon breathed as he stood over his adversary. “Such a shame. One has just completed his doses and the others were finally ready,” he said disdainfully, “How dare you interrupt my work?” He glowered at the Qunari. “They are mine. They will always be mine. And there is nothing you can do about it.”

Bull rolled and pushed himself to his feet, his axe dragging across the ground as he stood. He could feel the painful heat of the deep scratches blooming across his back, the blood dripping down. “You’re wrong,” he snarled. “They are MINE.” He roared as he swung his axe, but the creature jumped back, the axe glancing off the thick scales on its shoulder. “Fight me!” he challenged.

The host scowled at Bull, drawing back and letting his wings flare, expanding to their full length. “You bumbling fool. You have destroyed my work here. I will not be so easily destroyed. I will carry on and you will become my finest specimen,” he hissed as he flapped his wings creating a whirlwind as he lifted from the ground. “I will see you again soon,” he promised before he flapped his wings with more vigor, stirring up dust and rocks as he left the area.

Dorian could barely believe his eyes. He didn’t know how long he had been down there, he didn't’ know if his mind was playing tricks on him again. “Bull…. Grim… He…” he whimpered, “He’s been forced to drink something. Four times. He’s going to change. Become one of them.”

Bull growled as the creature escaped. “COWARD!” he bellowed. He looked around at his men, his heart sinking as his eyes finally landed on Grim. The man was barely recognizable. His mouth seemed deformed, fangs where his teeth should have been. The skin on his face was cracked and scaly, his arms long with boney protrusions growing out the backs of his elbows. “Fuuuuuck.”

Cassandra nearly stumbled as she came to a stop in the cavern, her eyes immediately going to Dorian. She and Varric had nearly been knocked over when that thing swooped overhead. “Dorian!” she cried and ran to him. She cupped his face in her hands, her heart breaking at the look in his eyes. “I’m going to get you out of here.” She drew her sword and began to pry at his restraints, trying to break them.

“Cassandra,” Dorian gasped. “Wipe… forehead, please,” he pleaded. He knew there was that awful dried blood there. His father hadn’t stopped hounding him. He was so grateful that the fire rune’s magic had run out that he didn’t care about that man, but now that there was nothing to distract him, he wanted the man gone. “Please. Please make him go away,” he begged.

Cassandra didn’t know who Dorian was talking about, but she scrubbed at his forehead, the dried blood there starting to flake off. “Forgive me,” she said as she spit on her fingers and scrubbed harder until it was all removed. She could see the relief in his eyes the moment the blood was gone. “Sorry,” she said. “Anthony hates it when I do that, too.”

“He doesn’t know what he is missing,” Dorian gasped, “I could kiss you for that.”

Bull couldn’t look at Grim. He didn’t know what to do. He turned, seeing Cassandra working to free Dorian, and went to Krem. He shook his head slowly as the lieutenant looked up at him and gave him a weak smile.

“Knew you’d come for us,” Krem gasped out. He nearly sobbed in relief as Bull freed him from his shackles. His knees shook and he stumbled, but managed to keep himself upright. A groan escaped him as he rubbed at his neck. “I demand hazard pay for this.”

Bull chuckled and turned to Dorian as Cassandra managed to get the last of his bindings off. “Kadan,” he said softly and held out his hand to the mage. He felt wretched for taking so long to get to his lover. 

“Amatus,” Dorian breathed as he stepped forward, throwing his arms around the Qunari’s neck. He couldn’t stop himself as he sobbed against his love. The feeling of that creature’s hands still upon him made him tremble and clench tightly at Bull’s harness. He had almost been turned. He had been seconds away from never being able to hold his love again. “I almost lost you,” he hissed.

Bull crushed Dorian to his chest, pressing a kiss to the top of his hair. “No. But for a moment I thought I’d lost you,” he rumbled. Although they were nowhere near getting out of that place yet, the relief of having Dorian in his arms again was overwhelming. He just held Dorian close as he watched Cassandra and Varric free Stitches and Dalish. “Don’t forget Grim,” he said.

Stitches looked at his boss, then at Grim, and back again. He shook his head slowly. “There’s nothing we can do for him now, Chief,” he said slowly, keeping his voice as even as possible. “That’s dragon’s blood mixed with red lyrium they made him drink. There’s nothing that will stop it.”

Fury welled up in Bull again and his grip around Dorian tightened. He’d failed one of his men, hadn’t gotten there in time. He didn’t want to believe it. He grit his teeth and shook his head, closing his eye for a moment. “DAMN.”

Varric was already looking around the cavern in distaste, but to hear that one of Bull’s chargers had been forced to drink the stuff… He clenched his jaw and turned to punch the cave wall. “Rocky is going to blow this shit sky high,” he swore before he turned around, his knuckles throbbing as he looked upon Grim hanging in his chains. He looked half dragon already, miserable and dead already. “Bull. You have to end it for him. Before he becomes one of them.” 

Dorian looked up at Bull miserably. He knew how this was, he knew how much the Chargers meant to Bull. “End it while he still remembers what he is. We’ve seen what they become. He doesn’t want to remember turning into a monster. One of those nightmares. Please, Amatus.”

Bull heaved a sharp sigh through his nose and released Dorian, walking over to Grim. He could still see the man he’d once been, the way Grim’s pale eyes looked up at him with pleading. He loathed himself for this. He spoke in a soft voice as he reached out and laid a heavy hand on Grim’s shoulder. “I failed you. I’m sorry, Grim,” he said before he pulled back and grabbed his axe, lifting it over his shoulder.

Cassandra looked away and squeezed her eyes shut as she heard the axe swing through the air and the sickening splatter met her ears. It was merciful, she knew that, but it was hard to bear. She drew a sharp breath, steeling her nerves. “We must go. We have to find that creature and stop him before he does this to anyone else.”

Dorian watched as Grim’s head rolled to the ground. It was the least he could do. After endless hours of torture, Bull finally brought peace to the man. He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Bull again. “Get us out of here,” he pleaded, “That thing… he had plans. He would not stick around to be captured.”

Varric gripped his crossbow tighter. “What? And leave that thing here to keep kidnapping and murdering more people? No thanks, but I’d sleep better at night knowing that thing’s head was separated from its body.”

“You dont know what it did to us!” Dorian roared, “YOU WEREN’T HERE. It Tortured us! You don’t know how many times I wished I would die but I never did! How many times I saw all of your throats sliced open because of that creature. WE WERE TORTURED. He made Grim drink his blood! He made a miner drink his blood. He BECAME one of those creatures and there was nothing we could do about it!” 

Bull felt the guilt heavy on his heart as Dorian shouted at them. He knew he hadn’t been there and he would never forgive himself for not arriving faster. “Kadan,” he said gently and placed his hand on Dorian’s shoulder, trying to calm him.

“Dorian, we have to stop him,” Krem said, though his voice was weak, worn out and broken sounding. “We can’t let him do this to anyone else. If we leave now, he’s going to do the same to more. Men, women, even children. You heard him. He likes tormenting the kids. We can’t let that happen again.”

Cassandra felt rage well up inside her. This had been done to children? She thought of her own babies, of something so monstrous happening to them. “I am not leaving until we stop this creature,” she stated firmly. “We have to be close to the surface. Maybe some of you should get out while the rest of us deal with him.”

“Split up again?” Bull asked dangerously. “We just found them!” He shook his head and snorted angrily. “No. We don’t split up. We go back and get Rocky and Skinner, and then we hunt this thing down and kill it. Together.”

Varric nodded in agreement. “Yeah, we’re not leaving anyone alone ever again. Shit. If this thing is threatening Kirkwall, we have to stop it and not leave it to chance. Fuck. Tiny, you would never forgive yourself. I would never forgive myself if this THING grabbed one of my kids. If this thing had gotten hold of Dorian, made him drink that shit?! We can’t let that happen again.”

Cassandra wasn’t wasting time standing around arguing. “I’m going to get the others and then we’re hunting that thing down,” she growled, turning on her heel and preparing to march away.

Bull reached over his shoulder and grabbed Dorian’s staff, then handed it to him. “Come on, Kadan,” he said. “You know you wouldn’t forgive yourself either. We have to end this. And then we will get as far away from this place as possible.”

Dorian blinked a few times, making sure he wasn’t seeing things again before he reached out and grasped his staff, flexing his fingers around it carefully as if he were feeling it for the first time. He clenched his fingers around it securely and stood up straighter before he looked at Bull. “One more thing before we do this,” he breathed before he reached up and grasped a horn, yanking the other man down for a fierce kiss, melding his lips with the Qunari’s, sighing against him.

Bull’s eye went wide for a split second before he kissed Dorian back. Oh he would definitely be taking some time off once they were free from the mine to just lock himself away with the mage. A shiver ran down his back at the feel of Dorian’s grip on his horn, and for a moment he lost himself in thoughts of what they would do once they were back home.

“Stop being a cliche from one of my Swords and Shields novels. You are disturbing my wife!” Varric drawled as he watched the two men kiss. And he noticed his Cassandra hadn’t taken her eyes off the display either. He knew the situation was dire, but it was good to see that even so, there was hope to be found. He gave her a look, “You know, if you wanted to watch some time, I’m sure they would let you.”

Cassandra felt her face burn hotly and she quickly looked away. “Ugh!” she huffed, embarrassed at being caught staring, and stomped back down the passage, calling over her shoulder, “We don’t have time for this! Move it!”


	12. Chapter 12

They worked quickly to haul Anthony and Skinner up the wall, followed by Rocky. They’d seen the creature fly overhead and pointed the direction they saw it go.

The wall they’d all climbed up had a secondary passage, one they overlooked in their eagerness to get to Dorian and Krem. It was incredibly narrow, with a solid wall on one side and the twenty foot drop on the other. But it seemed to incline towards the surface and it would lead them in the direction the creature had vanished.

“I’ll go first again,” Bull offered. “I’m the biggest. If I can make it, all of us can.” He studied the narrow ledge for a moment, then decided the best way to cross would be to press his back flat against the wall and hold his axe across his chest, stepping sideways. He locked his gaze with Dorian for a moment, then stepped out onto the ledge, feeling his way carefully across. “Be careful!” he called back. “It’s slick.”

Cassandra knelt down, grasping her son’s shoulders. “You hold my hand,” she said sternly. “Do not look down. Be brave.” When Anthony nodded, she gave him a nod in return and stood again. She took his hand in hers and edges toward the narrow pass, scooting along with her hand clenched tightly around Anthony’s. 

“Mommy, I scared,” Anthony said, clinging to his mother’s hand. “I wanna go home! I don’t like this!” 

Cassandra gasped when Anthony planted his feet firmly and she nearly slipped. Her eyes fluttered shut as she prayed for patience, “Maker, help me.” She looked down at her son, a serious look on her face. “Anthony, you MUST,” she insisted. “This is not the time to argue. You must be brave. There is no where else to go. Now come.” She hated being hard on him, but it wasn’t as if they could turn around and go back. 

Anthony whined and looked back the way they’d come. “Daddyyyyyyy,” he whined again, knowing his father was the easier of the two to get his way. 

“I’m right behind you, kiddo,” Varric promised as he sidled up to the wall. “Listen to your mother and do as she says,” he said sternly as he started crossing, his heart jumping in his throat as he slipped, but quickly regained his footing, pressing his back up against the wall. He would rather face this than that claustrophobic mess any day.

Cassandra moved again and this time, Anthony moved with her, though he pouted and whined a bit more. She turned her head to watch Bull, making sure not to get too close in case something went wrong. She could hear that damned noise again, the skittering over rock, and she hoped that nothing attacked in that moment. They were truly defenseless. 

Krem went after Varric, praying to the Maker that he could keep his wits about him long enough to cross. He still felt weak and sick from the torment he’d endured and more than once he had to stop and get his bearings. “Damn it all,” he breathed when he looked down and felt his vision swim. He gently rested his head back against the wall, his skull still aching from where it had been slammed against the post. He looked back, seeing the mage following after him. “Alright, Dorian?” he called.

“As well as can be expected,” he answered as he stepped up onto the ledge, his staff in his hand glowing brightly. “Stay focused,” he breathed carefully, though his own limbs were shaking, and he wanted nothing more than to just collapse. He had been standing for Maker knows how long and the monster had been about to force that sludge down his throat. He didn’t even want to think of what would have happened if he had actually drank the stuff. His life, his love, every thing would be forfeit. He looked up towards Bull, his heart giving a lurch and he suddenly felt out of control. He desperately wanted it back. 

Bull heaved a sigh when he reached the other side, but paused when he felt the cool wind against his skin. The corner of his mouth turned up in a smirk. If there was wind, then they were close to the surface and a way out. But then that meant that bastard they were chasing was even closer to the exit. He turned and reached out a hand for Cassandra, helping her into the wider passage. “We’re close. Be ready. I don’t know if that thing will risk going out into daylight or if it’s preparing to attack us.”

Cassandra nodded and drew her sword, picking Anthony up to rest on her hip. She managed a smile for Varric when he stepped off the narrow ledge as well, then let Bull push them further into the passage so he could reach the others. 

Bull didn’t like the look in Dorian’s eyes and he quickly wrapped a heavily muscled arm around the mage’s shoulders, pulling him tight to his side. “It’s alright, Kadan,” he said softly as he reached out his free hand to help the Chargers step into the new passage one by one. “We will be out of here before you know it. Just hold it together until then.”

“It isn’t alright,” Dorian said quietly. “But I will feel a lot better once we murder the monster who did this to us. Who did this to Grim,” he said darkly as he wrapped an arm around Bull’s waist, pressing his face against the man’s side. He was safe. He felt protected in his love’s side. “Don’t leave me, Amatus.”   


“Never,” Bull promised. “I never should have let you get separated from us in the first place.” He squeezed his arm around Dorian again, then turned them to follow down the passage. “Don’t you worry. I’m going to make that bastard pay for what he did.” A dark look crossed his features as he stalked forward, his axe resting on his shoulder. “No one messes with my Kadan and lives to tell about it.”

“Good,” Dorian said bluntly as he let Bull pull him tightly against his side. He gazed ahead, watching as Varric and Cassandra walked carefully, shielding their son from the dangers around them. He remembered what the creature had said about children and he couldn’t suppress the shudder that went through him. “He needs to die. We need to kill him, now. He was going to torture Anthony. Make him drink that blood. Turn him into one of those things.”

That bothered Bull even more the more he thought about it. It was bad enough to do that to grown men, but to do it to children? “Sick motherfucker,” he growled and gently pushed away from Dorian to make his way to the front of the group again. “Stay back. I’ll handle this sonuvabitch.”

Cassandra blinked as a pale light met her eyes. It streamed through an opening in the wall ahead, bringing with it a soft breeze. “Maker, there’s the exit,” she nearly sobbed. She strode forward, eager to get her son out and to safety. If she could get him out, get the Chargers and Dorian out, then she and Bull and Varric could deal with the creature. “We are almost home,” she assured Anthony, but cried out as a sudden weight hit her, knocking her flat on her back. Her eyes went wide as she found herself face to face with the half-man-half-dragon, and she kicked out at the slick rocks, trying to scramble backwards as he loomed over her.

Varric’s eyes went wide a moment before they narrowed and he raised his crossbow at the creature on top of his wife and son. “Get away from them, you bastard!” he shouted as he fired off several bolts in succession.

The creature roared in agony as he was hit and he stood up, hauling Cassandra and the boy with him, his arm going around her neck. “Fire at me again, and you will kill them,” he hissed, “You have no choice but to let me go. Who do you think controls the army beneath your feet? Kill me and the Draak will be unleashed upon this world, consuming everything you know, everything you hold dear. I am your only salvation.”

Cassandra felt a fury rise up in her, a protectiveness over her son. She struggled to break the hold the creature had around her neck, kicking her legs wildly. “I will not be used like this!” she shouted and swung her sword back, slicing through the leathery part of its wing. She barely managed to catch herself on her feet when it released her, hissing in pain, and she grabbed Anthony up again as he squalled in fear.

Bull rushed forward, squaring off against the monster. “Everyone stay back!” he ordered, his gaze locked on the beast before him. “This one is mine.” With a roar he launched himself into the air, swinging his axe high over his head and brought it down, severing the other wing from its back. A wicked grin split his face as it stumbled back, screeching and hissing. “Piece by piece,” he snarled.

The monster screamed out, his wing laying useless beside him and he glared at the Qunari in front of him. His power came from surprise and in numbers, without them, he was useless. “You are going to regret this!” he hissed, “You are all going to die. Without me, they will be like insects feasting upon a carcass. There will be no stopping them. I am the only one who can control them! There are hundreds, thousands! You do not stand a chance!”

Bull grinned again. “That’s where you’re wrong,” he growled. “I’ve got my own demolition expert. Once I take the pleasure of slaughtering you, he will blow this place and everything you’ve created will be gone. Every last one of you slimey, mutated bastards will be wiped out.” He spun on his heel, swinging the axe around in a circle, catching the creature across the midsection, blood splurting forth, spraying him. The smell just fueled him on. “Come on and fight me!” he roared.

The monster gurgled and a disturbing grin spread across his face. “All the black powder in the world could not begin to destroy these mines. You have no idea how far down they extend. You will have to travel across the whole world to destroy every last one of my creations. You got a start when you slaughtered your own man down there. That’s one. There are many men, women, and children I have converted. Can you really kill them all, knowing what they’ve been through? What they have sacrificed?”

“Sacrificed?” Cassandra gasped. “You make it sound as if they have willingly given their lives for a noble purpose! But that could not be further from the truth! You drag them down here, force this upon them, torture and mutilate them! At this point, death is a mercy!”

Bull gave his head a jerk towards Cassandra. “What she said,” he growled. He squared his shoulders and drew his axe back. “I’ve heard enough talk. You couldn’t even put up a good fight. You just ambush people and prey on them in the dark,” he snarled before he swung his axe, grinning as it sank into the creature’s flesh with a sickening, slick thwack. He pulled back and did it again and again, relishing in the screaming, gurgling, dying sounds made by the being.   


Dorian watched on with more pleasure than he probably should have been feeling as Bull hacked it to pieces. It was all too pleasant to watch his captors body parts go flying about, the sickening squelch of pain as it took its dying breaths. He drank it all in, using it as a salve for every ounce of agony he had endured, for everything that had been forced upon them. For Grim’s death. He spat on the ground at it. “A quick death was too good for him,” he said bitterly, “but I am glad it’s over.”

Varric scowled down at the lifeless body, his mind turning over the words of the maniac. “Do you think what he said was true? That those things are going to start overrunning the city? Shit,” he breathed, “How many of those things are out there? He said thousands.” 

“Could there really be that many missing people?” Krem asked, looking on with satisfaction as Bull hacked the creature to pieces. He swallowed harshly. “Or are they breeding down here? If that’s the case, there could be that many. He could've been down here for years creating this army he talked about.”

Bull spat on the hacked and chopped body, a sick satisfaction coursing through him at the smell of blood, the sight of it dripping off his axe, the knowledge that he had avenged Grim’s death and the torture inflicted on his love and his men. He turned slowly, his face and chest spattered with blood. “Rocky, blow this shit up.”

“Thought you would never ask, Chief. Get everyone out into the fresh air. I’ll see what I can do,” the dwarf said with a grin. “Finally get to test out my latest refinement of Qunari black powder. I’ve got it this time. I know it,” he said as he sat down and started lifting items out of his pack.

Varric nodded and turned, shouldering Bianca and placing a hand on his son’s shoulder, “Come on, let’s get the hell out of here.”

“Wait,” Dorian said, “You can’t just blow this thing up. Some of this mine actually extends beneath the city! What happens when you blow this place sky high and part of Lowtown goes with it!?”

“Then how the hell do you suggest we deal with these things when they come crawling out after us?” Bull demanded, slinging the axe over his shoulder as he turned to face Dorian. He maintained his hard gaze for only a few moments before he heaved a sigh, realizing Dorian was right. “Fiiiine,” he grumbled. “We’ll figure out a plan later. Rocky, pack it up. Let’s just get the hell out of here.”

Cassandra picked up Anthony again and placed him firmly on her hip, turning towards the light she could see. She grabbed Varric’s hand and gave it a tug, anxious to get out of there. “Thank the Maker,” she breathed. The mouth of the cave was small, but big enough that they could all fit through without a struggle. She handed Anthony to Varric and knelt down to duck through first.

“We go home now?” Anthony asked, blinking his big eyes at his father.

“Yeah son, we’re going home now.” He eyed the mouth of the cave and grimaced at it. “And daddy isn’t going into another cave as long as he lives. That includes mines. You with me on that one?” he asked his boy, holding him carefully, before he kissed the top of his son’s head.

Anthony nodded enthusiastically. “NO MORE MINES.”


	13. Chapter 13

Upon arriving at their estate in Hightown, Dorian walked through the door and immediately began stripping off his soiled robes, unable to stand another minute in him. He was exhausted, terrified and filthy. First things first, he wanted a hot bath. He balled up his robes and threw everything into the fire place as he passed it in their room, aiming a fireball at it. He was shaking as he made his way to the bathroom, his mind turning over everything that had happened in the past twenty four hours. 

He scowled down at the fire rune still scratched into his skin, his body jerking at the memory of the pain it had inflicted. He would make up a salve later and make sure that mark would be wiped away from his body for good. For the moment, he went to the cabinet as the water filled the tub and downed a health potion, watching the mark fade and heal. The scratches on his wrists fading as well. He tossed the vial away and ran a hand over his hair. He looked a mess. 

He sighed and turned back to the water, stopping the flow from the pipes and got into the large tub with a sigh. He leaned his head back and dunked it under the water, rubbing furiously at his short hair for a moment before he surfaced. He looked around for his shampoo and soaps, unable to see them. “Vishante kaffas,” he muttered spying them across the room. He didn’t want to get back up and instead, sat up and scrubbed at his face. The image of that monster sneering above him as his clawed hand slipped into his hair and tipped his head back, forcing his mouth open. That skull tipping over.  He shuddered violently and pressed his lips thin, in disgust, in horror. 

And he had been to the point of not caring. One moment more and he would have been with Grim and he would have forced Bull to mercy kill him as well. 

Bull leaned in the doorway, watching Dorian for a moment. They hadn’t spoken much on the way home; Dorian had seemed like he didn’t feel much like talking for once, and Krem had taken most of the time to theorize about how to deal with the Draak they now knew lived beneath the city. 

He wordlessly went to the shelf and grabbed up a couple of the bottles, then moved to kneel behind the tub, pouring a good measure into his hand. “That thing really got to you,” he stated, not quite a question, as he began to work the shampoo into Dorian’s hair. He rubbed at his scalp, his thumbs working deep into the muscles in the back of Dorian’s neck. “You always get quiet when something bothers you this bad.”

A frown pulled at his lips when Dorian didn’t answer. He grabbed the washrag and wiped at Dorian’s face, down his throat, before he began to wash his chest, carefully avoiding the now faded rune that had been cut into his skin. “Talk to me, Kadan,” he said softly. “Tell me what you need from me to make you feel better.”

Dorian relaxed slightly under Bull’s gentle fingers, leaning into the wash rag. He was starting to feel clean again, but he closed his eyes, shaking his head, “That monster, he tried to take me. Everything that I am. He took our minds and broke them. Tried to break us and he was succeeding. If you had been one second more, then we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” He clenched his hands into fists as he tried to relax in Bull’s hands and he shuddered. “I had no control to stop him. He forced me to drink magebane and everything I was, I…” He bit his lip and cut himself off.

Bull wished he’d drawn out the death, made that monster suffer longer for what he’d done. He calmly slid his hand down the length of Dorian’s arm and grasped his wrist, lifting it so he could press a kiss to Dorian’s fist. “You need to take back some control,” he said, keeping his low, even rumble. He let the washcloth travel lower over Dorian’s body, scrubbing away the dirt and everything else on his skin. The guilt was eating him alive that he hadn’t gotten to them sooner, but he could deal with that himself later. Right now, it was all about Dorian. “I have an idea for that if you’re interested.”

Dorian raised an eyebrow at that. “Oh?” he asked as he leaned his head back to look up at Bull. “And what exactly is this lovely idea of yours?” he said as he lowered a hand to rest on top of Bull’s hand that had dipped under the water, running his fingertips over the callused knuckles of the Qunari’s hand, “If it involves me not thinking for a good while, I’m all for it.” 

A grin split Bull’s lips. “You won’t be thinking for awhile after I’m done with you,” he said as he stood and grabbed a towel. He helped Dorian out of the tub and began to dry him off, taking his time as he traced the soft cloth over the lines of his lover’s body. He smirked as he licked and nibbled at Dorian’s abs, running the towel down his legs, then back up the insides of his thighs. “You need to take back the control,” he said simply as he traced the line of Dorian’s hip with his tongue. “So take it.”

Dorian felt his length twitch at Bull’s low tone and he felt his lips curl up slightly at the suggestion. He looked down at the Qunari and he reached out with his hands, letting his fingers curl around Bull’s horns. He sighed out at the rough feel of them, the solid grip. He gave a tentative tug, smiling as he went with it. “You always do know what I need, Amatus,” he said quietly as he tugged him towards his hardening length. His mouth watered at the sight and yes. This was the perfect way to lose himself, to have pull take him apart piece by piece and put him back together again the way he was supposed to be. 

A low chuckle rumbled in Bull’s throat as he let Dorian pull him closer. He slowly took the hard length into his mouth, twirling his tongue around it as a low moan escaped him. A shiver raced down his spine at the firm grip Dorian had on his horns, making his own cock stir and harden. He needed his own distraction, too, to put that place below ground out of his mind for awhile. He ran his hands up the backs of Dorian’s thighs to cup his ass, but let Dorian control the pace.

Dorian tilted his head back and moaned, low in his throat as Bull’s hands cupped his bottom, the blistering heat of the Qunari’s mouth sealed around him so perfectly was certainly working towards driving all the thoughts out of his head. There was a lot of work ahead of them, he was certain and they would have to have a proper Chargers send off for Grim. But that would be later. All that existed now, in that moment, was himself and Bull. “Yesss,” he hissed as he used Bull’s horns to control the pace, his cock twitching as that wicked tongue teased him.

Bull groaned as Dorian became more confident, his thrusts more forceful. He sucked harder at him, swallowing down the drops that slipped from the tip. He briefly pulled away, just long enough to breathe, “Kadan, you taste so good.” He quickly sealed his lips around him again, taking him deeper into his throat as he ran his fingertips down the line between Dorian’s buttocks. He loved the sound of Dorian panting, the soft moans from his throat. 

Dorian couldn’t stop the groan of pleasure as he felt Bull teasing him and he shuddered deliciously at the thought of those thick fingers piercing him or even better, his cock. He swallowed hard, thrusting harder into Bull’s mouth. “Maker, I need you. I need you inside me,” he breathed, sweat running down the side of his forehead. The image produced by his mind was too good to ignore and he pulled Bull all the way onto his cock as he tilted his head back and cried his release, his cock twitching as he came into the Qunari’s mouth. It was so good. So good. All too soon, he was relaxing, feeling boneless and he released his grip on Bull’s horns.

Bull eagerly drank him down, taking care to draw out every last drop before he gently released Dorian’s length from his mouth. He smirked as Dorian wavered on his feet. “Easy, Kadan,” he murmured, still holding the backs of his thighs to steady him. When he was certain Dorian wouldn’t fall over, he got to his feet and grabbed the robe, wrapping the mage in it. “Why don’t you go lie down and rest for a moment while I get cleaned up?” he suggested. It wouldn’t have bothered him personally, but he knew how Dorian was. “Go on. I’ll only be a minute.”

“Mmm,” Dorian hummed in agreement, but reached up and grasped Bull’s harness and pulled him down for a searing kiss, tasting himself on Bull’s lips. “Don’t be long, Amatus,” he said as he let go and walked out towards their bedroom. 

Bull kept his word, cleaning up as quickly as possible. He knew there was no rush, they had all night if they wanted. But he didn’t want to keep Dorian waiting. He kept licking his lips, relishing the taste of his lover’s essence on his tongue. He finally made his way to the bedroom, smirking again as he saw Dorian lying on the bed. He crawled over him, laying his body over Dorian’s, and kissed him soundly, pressing his hips against the mage’s. His length was hard and aching as he ground himself against his lover. “Tell me how you want it,” he breathed hotly in Dorian’s ear.

Dorian gasped against him, thrusting his hips up against Bull’s. He remembered back to their very first night together, he had been so drunk, but he remembered how sobering that cock was, how full he had felt. He had never felt safer. “I want to be on top,” he breathed. He absolutely refused to call it ‘Riding the Bull.' “I don’t want to be able to walk in the morning,” he said as he reached up, cupping Bull’s scarred jaw, tracing his thumb over his lips, “Please, Amatus.” 

“Slow down,” Bull chuckled, slowly pulling the tie to Dorian’s robe open. He slid the fabric away, revealing the golden tanned skin beneath, and dipped his head to capture a nipple in his mouth. His hands trailed over Dorian’s body as he nipped and teased the taut, sensitive flesh with his teeth and tongue. He trailed his hand down, cupping Dorian’s ass again before he pressed a finger forward, teasing the hidden ring of muscle there. He smiled as Dorian gasped and gave a buck of his hips. “Relax, Kadan,” he murmured softly as he wiggled his finger, ever so slowly working it into his lover’s body.

Dorian groaned out, perhaps loving the burning stretch of Bull’s finger too much, but he couldn’t care. He arched his back at the touch, moaning out loudly as Bull teased his nipples, each sharp bite sending hot flashes of pleasure down through his body, into his cock which was already starting to harden again with interest. He tried to relax, he really did, but Bull had this effect on him. He spread his legs wider and thrust his hips down, taking more of that finger into him. “Maker yes!” he cried out. He reached up with his own hands to run them over Bull’s scarred skin, tracing each one with a familiarity born over the years they had been together. He lightly teased at the Bull’s own nipples, pinching them between firm fingers.

Bull moaned deep in his throat as Dorian teased back at him, shivering with pleasure. “Harder,” he softly growled and threw his head back as sharp pinches met his request. He worked a second finger into the willing flesh beneath him, and was rewarded with a cry of pleasure from his lover. He crooked his fingers, feeling out the bundle of nerves he knew to be there. The corner of his mouth twitched with pride as Dorian cried out again, his cock jerking, drops of precum splurting onto his amber skin. “That’s it, Kadan,” he purred as he worked his fingers in and out of the mage’s body. 

Bracing himself on his knees, he reached out with his free hand to grab the bottle of oil that sat on the bedside table. He uncorked it with his thumb and drizzled it over his own hard flesh, moaning as he grasped himself, slicking his cock with the oil. He let some drip onto his fingers as he continued to press them into Dorian, then set the bottle aside again. He shivered in anticipation, feeling how slick he was now, how easily his fingers slid in and out of Dorian’s body. 

He pressed a fierce kiss to Dorian’s lips, sliding their tongues together, both of them moaning against each other’s mouths, before he suddenly pulled away and rolled to lay flat on his back. He grasped his cock at the base, and shot a haughty look at Dorian. “You know you want to ride the Bull,” he said, forcing himself to swallow down a laugh at the way Dorian looked at him. He knew how much he hated that. He slid his fist slowly up and down his cock once, beads of precum slipping from the tip as it throbbed in his hand.

Dorian nearly wept at the loss of Bull’s fingers, but a sizzle of pleasure worked its way down his spine to sit in his throbbing cock as Bull laid back and stroked himself. He rolled over, crawling up Bull’s sweat slicked body. “You are lucky I put up with you, Amatus,” he breathed as he held himself above Bull’s cock a moment before he sank down on him. Stars popped in front of his eyes as he was stretched almost to the point of pain, but it was delicious. “Maker, Bull. You feel so good.”

Bull threw his head back with a hiss, his back arching off the bed as the impossibly tight heat surrounded his cock. He lost himself in that moment, the only thing that existed was Dorian and the pleasure they gave one another. His hands gripped Dorian’s hips, lifting him slightly before pulling him forcefully back down. “Fuck yesssss,” he breathed, doing it again. He would never get over how tight and hot Dorian’s body was. “Ride me,” he commanded, lifting his hips.

Dorian was still trying to rein himself in, Bull’s impossibly large cock pressed against all his prostate with every pass, setting a burning heat deep inside of his gut as he splayed his hands wide over Bull’s chest as he pushed himself up and slid back down, squeezing his muscles tightly over the rock hard length inside of him. He let his hands drift over Bull’s pectorals, over the scars and his nipples, raking his nails down the thick flesh. His body was burning in the best way possible, and he grinned at that, screaming out his pleasure.

“FUCK!” Bull roared as Dorian clenched around him. He thrust his hips up, driving himself deeper and harder into the slick heat. “Fuck yes. Mmmm… fuck me,” he commanded and wrapped his large, rough hand around Dorian’s cock, stroking it in time with their thrusts. “You’re so tight, Kadan,” he purred, his oil-slicked hand working over Dorian’s hard length. “You feel amazing.”

“Festis bei umo canavarum,” Dorian breathed out as Bull’s hand closed over his cock, a large drop of precum oozing out of the tip. He could feel his entire body flushing from the pleasure, his mind slipping away and narrowed down to the only points of contact between him and his love. “I can’t wait much longer, Amatus,” he breathed as he ground firmly down onto Bull’s hard length, his pleasure cresting higher, “Please. Maker please!”

Fire seemed to burn through Bull’s veins as he listened to his lover beg for release. His own cock jerked and throbbed, pushing him closer and closer to that edge. “Then come for me,” he rumbled and drove his cock forcefully, needfully into Dorian’s body as he gave in to his own pleasure. He roared out as his cock pumped hot rivers of cum deep into his lover, his hand working faster and faster over Dorian’s length, determined to bring him over the edge with him.

Dorian keened as he came, his back arching as that hot liquid burned inside of him, sending him over the edge. “Bull!” he cried as his cock jerked forcefully in the Qunari’s massive hand, his essence striping the both of them, painting their stomachs. He clenched tightly around his lover as he rode out his orgasm, until he finally relaxed, falling forward onto Bull’s chest. A pleasant buzz hummed through his head, his heart beat starting to slow as pleasure curled around him. “Riding the bull, indeed,” he said weakly.

Bull laughed at that and wrapped an arm around Dorian. “You like it,” he teased. He stretched beneath Dorian, then relaxed back into the soft bed, enjoying the pleasure high that still sang through him. It was nice, this quiet moment, just the two of them with nothing between them. “I almost thought we wouldn’t make it back here,” he muttered aloud without thinking. 

Dorian folded his arms on Bull’s chest, propping his chin up as he looked into Bull’s eye. He leaned down, pressing a kiss to his chest. “There was a time I was sure I wasn’t going to see you again. Everything was a nightmare. I’m certain that the thought of being taken from you like that was worse than any pain he could have inflicted on me,” he sighed as he closed his eyes, “Grim didn’t make it.”

“Grim knew from the beginning that working for me meant putting his life on the line,” Bull said, staring up at the ceiling, absentmindedly trailing his fingers up and down the smooth skin of Dorian’s back. “We’ve risked our lives for less. Saving Anthony meant something, all my boys knew that. I’m just glad I was there to end it for him, on his terms. And he didn’t end up some mindless thing down in the mines.” He looked to meet Dorian’s gaze again. “But if it had been you…” He trailed off, swallowing harshly. 

“I know, but it wasn’t. If it had been...” He opened his eyes, now shining with unshed tears. “I do not want to think about it. To even imagine a life without you in it, even in the afterlife. It is rather unsettling. You never realize what you have until it is almost ripped away,” he said as he reached out, letting his fingers curl around Bull’s jaw. He pushed himself up, groaning as the length slipped from his body and he moved to tuck himself tightly against Bull’s side, winding his legs with the other man’s. 

Bull sighed and pulled the blankets up to cover them, knowing Dorian would get cold soon if he didn’t. “Then don’t think about it anymore. At least not tonight,” he rumbled as he wrapped an arm tightly around Dorian. “Let’s get some rest. You know we’ll have to deal with this soon. But not tonight.”

“Brilliant idea, Amatus,” he said as he leaned up, kissing him firmly, sighing out as he drank him down, “That’s one of the best things I’ve heard all day.”


	14. Chapter 14

Cassandra smiled as they neared the Hanged Man, her son soundly asleep with his head on Varric’s shoulder. She affectionately ran her fingers through his dark curls as she opened the door and let Varric slip inside. It felt so good to be home. They were safe, all of them together again. But now that the danger was past, Cassandra had another pressing matter to deal with.

She needed to nurse her baby.

She knew there were plenty of bottles kept at the Hanged Man that her little one hadn’t gone hungry. But her breasts were so engorged, it was painful. She’d never gone this long without nursing before. 

She gave a relieved sigh when they entered their rooms and she saw Norah there, reading a book by the fireplace. Cassandra nodded for Varric to go lay Anthony down in his own room. “Thank you for watching Lily,” she said as Norah set the book aside and stood up. “I will make sure you are well paid for it.”

“It was no problem,” Norah answered, though she looked rather tired. “She’s sleeping in her bassinette. I just fed her not ten minutes ago and she went right to sleep for me. She should be out for a few hours at least.”

Cassandra wanted to whimper, but she forced a smile and nodded, then walked Norah to the door. She really did whine when she closed the door. Now what was she going to do? She walked to their bedroom, pulling off her shirt as she went. She kicked off her boots and stripped away her dirt-covered pants to sit on the low bed. Her undershirt was soaked through and she hissed as she carefully peeled it away. She was so exhausted, all she’d wanted to do was nurse the baby and fall asleep in Varric’s arms.

She caught sight of herself in the full-length mirror and huffed. “Ugh, I look ridiculous,” she muttered to herself. Her breasts always seemed fuller when she was nursing, but after going a full day without it, it was really obvious. She gingerly touched the top of her breast and winced at the pain. They were hot to the touch, swollen, and she gave a frustrated cry as she let her hand drop back to the bed.

“You know, I could help you with that, Seeker.” Varric had no trouble putting Anthony to bed, the little man just rolling over to hug his stuffed nug and snuggled under the blankets. He had heard his wife’s cry of frustration and could easily guess what had been bothering her. After the fear of the caverns and mines and whatever that shit had been, as he gazed upon her curved form in their bed, he felt a surge of lust for her. He moved around the bedroom, shrugging off his duster and his shirt before he kicked off his boots and went to sit on the other side of the bed, turning towards her. 

He couldn’t help but smile at her, after everything they had been through today, she needed a break. She needed this. He reached out and gently cupped her breast, watching her face as he passed a thumb over her nipple. He made up his mind then and moved between her legs, crawling up until he was at eye level with her swollen flesh. He gently cupped each one, “How long has it been?”

She whimpered and nearly shied away from his touch. “Since yesterday,” she answered. “Right before I took Anthony to that cursed mine.” She felt her face blush a bit at her predicament. She bit her lip and met his eyes. “Norah already fed the baby. It’ll be at least two hours before she wakes up again, if not more.” She slid her fingers into his hair, giving him a pleading look. “Please?” she asked softly as she gave him the tiniest of tugs toward her breast.

He chuckled, reaching back and pulling the tie from his hair, tossing it aside. “As if I would ever tell you no,” he said before he locked his eyes with her, dipping down to nuzzle between the valley of her breasts, kissing her gently before he closed his eyes and turned his head, moving over her pert nipple. He laved at it a moment before he sealed his lips around her, suckling gently at the tender flesh. He gave a soft moan of pleasure as the sweet cream flowed over his tongue. His other hand worked on massaging her other breast diligently while he carefully squeezed and drank from her deeply. There was something more intimate about this and it was turning him on more than he thought it would.

Cassandra clawed at the sheets, her eyes stinging as her breasts burned. “Maker,” she whined as he suckled her breast. She closed her eyes as she felt the pressure in her chest start to lessen just the tiniest bit. His large, rough hand was gentle as he carefully massaged her. A shiver ran down her spine at the sound of Varric’s moan and heat of a new kind started to pool low in her belly. She’d never thought it would turn her on like this, but then again, everything Varric did seemed to turn her on. He could do it with a single glance, a word, a touch. She tangled her fingers in his hair as the stinging spread through her breasts. She rested her forehead on the top of his head, panting slightly. “Varric,” she breathed.

He hadn’t realized how badly this was hurting her and he carefully pulled back from her leaning up to press a gentle kiss to her lips. “Shh, I’ve got you,” he purred before he drank again, sighing against her. She was so sweet on his tongue and he couldn’t seem to get enough of her as he swallowed another mouthful. Maker, how much did the children drink from her? He pushed those thoughts from his head, she needed his full and undivided attention and he lifted his head after a moment. “You just tell me when the pain stops,” he breathed before switching to the neglected breast. 

It was strange to her, to feel discomfort and pleasure at the same time. She gave a soft cry as he latched onto her other breast. She didn’t know if she was supposed to feel awkward, but she couldn’t manage it. The only things she could think of was the relief and the pleasure she was starting to feel. She gave a soft moan and gently pulled at his hair, clinging to him. Her breasts were still tender, still heavy, but at least now they didn’t feel as if they might burst from the inside out. Another cry issued from her lips as he sucked harder at her and she bit her lip, her face feeling hot at being so turned on by her husband drinking from her body.

The sting from Cassandra pulling his hair only fueled him on further and he pulled back to nuzzled at the soft flesh, kissing the rosy red nipple carefully before he turned to the other breast and did the same thing. He pulled back and began kissing his way down her body, stopping long enough to strip away her smallclothes before he urged her to part her legs before he settled himself between her legs. “You’ll have to hold on a moment, Seeker, I’m hungry for something else first,” he breathed before he lowered his face to her, sealing his lips around her clit, tracing the little nub with his tongue before he delved down further between her slick folds.

Cassandra gasped and fell back on her elbows as pleasure washed over her. Her eyes rolled in her head as Varric’s soft, hot tongue licked at her core. “Oh Maker,” she cried out and reached down to thread her fingers into his hair again. She couldn’t help herself, she loved to play with his hair. Her hips writhed slightly against his face as his wicked tongue worked over her. “I… had no idea… it would turn you on so much,” she panted. She sucked air through clenched teeth as he pulled a spectacular move with his tongue that left her longing for more.

He hummed against her, looking up at her without taking his mouth off of her, but smiling against her all the same. He pulled away then, licking his lips and he moved to take off his pants and smallclothes before he returned to her. He carefully rubbed the head of his cock against her swollen lips. “It’s all about perspective,” he said with a grin, moaning out as he pushed inside of her tight heat. When he moved to lay over her, fully seated inside of her, hips flush with hers, his mouth was at just the perfect height on her body that he kissed and nuzzled at her breasts again. “And I have it,” he said before he pulled a nipple into his wanting mouth and began to drink from her as he leisurely thrust his hips into her liquid heat, moaning against her.

Oh to hell with worry, this was hot. Cassandra let herself fully enjoy the moment, throwing her head back as Varric’s thick cock filled her center and his mouth suckled at her breast again. She bucked up against him, taking him to the hilt with every thrust as she raked her nails across the back of his shoulders. She reached for his hand, guiding it to her free breast, and cried out as he squeezed it, the hot liquid from her breast trickling over his fingers. 

Varric didn’t think he was going to last much longer. She was so tight on him and the delightful sounds she was making only fueled him on. He switched to her other breast, greedily lapping up the milk there, his hand moving to squeeze gently at the breast he just left as he began to drink. He pulled back, licking his lips, his eyes locking with hers as he thrust into her firmly. “You are delicious, Seeker,” he purred. 

She felt her face burn, but her body clenched around him, his words inflaming her desire. She cried out as hot waves of pleasure washed over her, making her tense and tremble beneath him as he thrust harder, faster into her, drawing out her orgasm. “Varric!” she cried, barely able to breathe as his hard cock slammed into her, the jolts of pleasure relentless. “Come for me,” she begged breathlessly. “Please… please…”

With her pleading to him like that, her muscles clenching tightly around him, it didn’t take much more for him before he harshly thrust into her, his cock twitching as he came with a roar of pleasure. He gasped out, not moving his eyes from hers as he rocked into her, riding out his orgasm. He was out of breath when he finally stilled and with a groan he moved to lay over her. “Mmm,” he hummed contentedly, tiredness creeping into his voice. He still smiled against her skin and pulled his head back to look at her. “I’m full,” he teased. It was probably saying something that he could still find the small joys in life after the horror they had been through that day.

“You are awful,” she scolded, though a smirk pulled at her lips. She let her head drop back against the pillow, relieved. “New rule. If the place isn’t safe enough to take the baby with us, we do not go. Agreed?” she asked.

“And miss out on mind blowing sex that ensues because you haven’t nursed?” He tried to act offended as he pulled away from her, groaning as he slipped out of her and he hoisted himself up, propping himself up against the headboard and gathered her into his arms. “But, I digress. I agree. Though, have you been around Kirkwall recently? Not many places here that are safe enough for a baby. Guess we’ll just have to stay home. Or you know, stay out of those Maker damned caves.”

She nodded as she curled up against his side, nuzzling into his chest. “No more caves,” she agreed, though deep down, she knew it was a lie. They would have to deal with the problem before anyone else was hurt, before those creatures got completely out of hand. And she knew that they were the only ones who would do it.

* * *

The situation got out of hand faster than they’d anticipated. Only a couple weeks after their escape from the Bone Pit, people in the city started going missing. There were reports of strange creatures sighted at night. Cassandra and Varric knew that something was going to have to be done and soon. 

They were discussing it with Bull and Dorian in the upstairs of the Hanged Man over dinner when Cassandra realized they needed more drinks. She got to her feet and said she’d be right back, then tromped down the stairs. The Hanged Man was emptier than usual; people were afraid to venture out of their homes too close to dark.

She walked to the bar and asked for more wine, drumming her fingertips on the countertop. She glanced out the corner of her eye at a man at the other end, watching her intently. She looked away, but could feel his gaze on her and she looked again. He looked familiar, but she couldn’t quite place him. He had a long, narrow face with high cheekbones. The sides of his head were shaved, but the top sported long, brown dreadlocks. She blinked her eyes rapidly, hardly daring to believe it. “....Solas?!”

He casually leaned his elbow on the bar and a slow grin split his lips. Her surprise amused him greatly. “It would seem we face a common enemy once again, Seeker Cassandra.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this story turned out to be shorter than the last, but we hope you enjoyed it all the same! 
> 
> .....please don't kill us for the ending.


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